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HomeMy WebLinkAbout09-22-2009 C I TY O F_ DOWNTOWN REDEVELOPMENT u-"..R~c .~COMMITTEE RN WAS H I N G TO N September 22, 2009 MINUTES 1. CALL TO ORDER Vice Chair Sue Singer called the meeting to order at 4:01 p.m. in the Council Chambers located on the first floor of Auburn City Hall, 25 West Main Street, Auburn, WA. - Committee Members present were: Vice Chair Sue Singer and Member Gene Cerino. Chair Lynn Norman was excused. Staff present included: Planning, Building & Community Director Cindy Baker, Principal Planner Elizabeth Chamberlain, Public Works Director Dennis Dowdy, City Engineer Dennis Selle, Assistant City Engineer Ingrid Gaub, Economic Development Manager Dave Baron, Cultural Arts Manager Laurie Rose, Visual/Public Arts Coordinator Maija McKnight, and Planning Secretary Renee Tobias. Audience Members present were: Jeff Kelm, Kathleen Keator, David Buckholtz, Jeffrey Oliphant, and Spencer Alpert. II. CONSENT AGENDA A. Meeting Minutes - August 25, 2009 B. Meeting Minutes - September 9, 2009 Member Cerino moved to approve the consent agenda items as presented; Vice Chair Singer concurred. The consent agenda was approved as submitted unanimously 2-0. III. ACTION A. Downtown Urban Center (DUC) Design Standards , Principal Planner Elizabeth Chamberlain stated that the following three items are from the current Downtown Urban Center Design Standards and not from the Auburn Junction Design Standards. Staff asked the following questions of the Committee and received the following responses. 1) Committee to provide direction to staff on compact parking within surface lots in Downtown specifically on pedestrian streets (e.g. Main Street) which are currently prohibited. Should compact space& at a certain ratio be allowed? Committee discussed and concurred that compact parking should be permitted. Committee discussed the ratio of compact spaces and agreed using a 50% ratio for compact spaces in new surface lots is acceptable. Page 1 Downtown Redevelopment Committee Minutes September 22, 2009 2) Committee to provide direction to staff on the intent of monument signage in Downtown specifically on pedestrian streets (e.g. Main Street) which are currently prohibited. Principal Planner Elizabeth Chamberlain stated that monument signage is permitted within the downtown but not on a designated pedestrian street such as Main Street. Staff asked the Committee what was the reasoning for not allowing monument signage and should that be revisited? Staff further asked what if the signage is more wayfinding in nature would the Committee support monument signage. - The Committee responded that at the time the Guidelines were approved, they assumed the buildings would be built right up against the sidewalks and not set back. Given this thought, the Committee did not want signs in the streets or impeding pedestrian traffic. Ms. Chamberlain reported that these questions were raised mainly due to a current downtown project, One Main Building (Auburn Professional Plaza). The proposed sign would be located within the entry plaza and would be a wayfinding to businesses located within the building and to the parking garage. Ms. Chamberlain noted that the project's sign designer was present in'the audience should the Committee have project-specific questions. Staff asked the Committee if the prohibition was against all monument signage or could staff write in some flexibility that if it is set back a certain _ distance it would be permissible. As stated above, the purpose was to prevent interruption to pedestrian traffic. Committee agreed that wording that a monument signage would be acceptable if it were placed in such a way that it did not inhibit pedestrian traffic would be acceptable. Staff confirmed for the Committee that the type of sign that piles the business names on top of one another, such as a pole sign, would not be a monument signage. Signs have to be creative so there are other regulations that would protect a sign from being unattractive as it does have to be in character with the building (Page 10, Downtown Design Standards). Staff did confirm for the Committee that pole signs are prohibited and that monument signs have a limit on size in the downtown area. The Committee inquired about a business-specific sign that is on Main Street. Staff responded that the standards apply to new signage and staff is working with businesses on compliance. Re-facing an existing sign would not be required to comply with the design standards. The Committee supports monument signage on pedestrian streets if the signs are wayfinding in nature and for pedestrians as long as the signs are setback and do not impact pedestrian traffic. Staff will modify the Design Standards and bring back to the next Committee meeting for approval. Page 2 Downtown Redevelopment Committee Minutes September 22, 2009 3) Currently internally lit signage is not permitted unless on Auburn Way South and part of an electronic sign. Would the Committee consider internally lit signage if it is backlighting (LED lights) the sign and not a plastic cabinet sign? For example backlighting (LED lights) a glass panel. This has also come up as a result of other project reviews. Staff has been receiving requests to permit backlit signs such as behind a glass panel. The requests are not the unattractive cabinet signage which is most likely why this regulation was originally paced in the guidelines. There is attractive back lighting such as LED lights. Staff recommends adding language to the Design Standards that cabinet signage is prohibited but backlighting is allowed when it meets the other criteria, integration with architecture, and is a creative sign. Committee concurred with this recommendation. The Committee invited the One Main Building (aka Auburn Professional Plaza) design team to the table for discussion. Jeff Kehm with TubeArt Signs distributed two examples of monument signs proposed for the One Main Building. Mr. Kehm stated that the One Main Building logo is reminiscent of Auburn's railroad history and linking with the train station. Jeffrey Oliphant, Auburn Professional Plaza LLC, stated that the sign has a specific purpose - to draw people who patronize the hospital, medical office building and use the parking garage to the retail stores that front Main Street. Discussion about the location of the proposed signs ensued and questions about the height, size, and design of sign were asked of the design team. Mr. Oliphant stated that the-most important element is to direct people to the parking garage since parking is not on-site. The Committee also commented on the proposed name for the new parking structure and provided staff with some other alternatives. The Committee asked how far it is anticipated that someone could read the monument sign on 1st Street /Division Street. Mr. Oliphant stated the goal is for people leaving and walking out of the parking garage to be able to read the signage. The signs will be placed in the plaza setting on private property. The Committee then inquired about the color and design of the signage and how it will integrate with the architecture of the building. Mr. Kehm stated that the color,matches the canopies as well as the window ledge. The intent of the proposed signage is to compliment the building; not exactly match. If the sign were in brick it would blend in with the building and not be visible. " IV. INFORMATION B. Update on Auburn Junction Staff (Planning, Public Works, and Parks) met with Alpert design team to review the conceptual Auburn Junction design and compare it to the development agreement as well as the recommendations staff received from the Mayor's Page 3 Downtown Redevelopment Committee Minutes September 22, 2009 Institute on City Design (MICD). At the staff level meeting, it was decided that the Alpert design team would bring a preliminary design to staff, with the goal of presenting this information at the October 13, 2009 Downtown Redevelopment Committee meeting. Vice Chair Singer asked Spencer Alpert for any updates. Mr. Alpert stated that they had met with First Western and from a real estate marketing perspective developers would like the idea of a large gathering place such as a civic plaza. The next step would be to provide an updated memo to the Committee. Mr. , Alpert felt that the ideas shared in the memo matched with MICD recommendations. At last meeting, it was determined that Auburn Junction design guidelines did not need to revisited and revised as the Committee felt there was flexibility built into the regulations. Director Baker stated that the Committee spent a fair amount of time talking about City Hall Plaza and Council approved the master plan concept. The Alpert team reviewed the approved master plan and feels it does not fit into the recommendation of the MICD team. From the meeting with Alpert International, it was agreed that their design team would see if there were some adjustments that could be made to the Auburn Junction Design to integrate the Plaza south. Director Baker asked the Committee to be clear in what they were directing•staff to do and that it may mean potentially undoing decisions made on the City Hall Plaza. Does Committee want staff to redo the master plan concept drawing and does the Committee want the plaza to continue across Main Street to Marvel or Cavanaugh? Director Baker noted that from the Mayor's point of view, the City Plaza was finished. Member Cerino stated he wants the MICD's recommendation of continuing the plaza directly south and remove the triangle of trees at the SE corner of the city hall plaza. Member Signer stated that the paving pattern should be oriented north/south and not on an,angle as currently constructed. It was noted that the money that is currently set aside for the City Hall Plaza is for infrastructure only. Discussion continued that regardless of what the final direction on the Gity Hall Plaza will be come Spring 2010 the design for the Promenade will be started (depending on the grant funding award timing). The Committee asked if the scope of work changes for the Promenade what is the process. Economic Development Manger Baron stated that any changes from the scope of work submitted as part of the grant will need approval from the Economic Development Administration (EDA). Staff reminded the Committee that a major scope of the Promenade is infrastructure not the aesthetics. Staff also reminded the Committee that at the September 9, 2009 meeting, the Committee made a decision that the City Hall Plaza would continue directly south across Main Street, if found to be economically feasible by the developer, and not to the NE block of the Auburn Junction project. Page 4 Downtown Redevelopment Committee Minutes September 22, 2009 Discussion continued about the timing of the Promenade project with the Auburn Junction project. Director Baker asked Public Works how long does it take from design to final construction. Assistant City Engineer Gaub stated about 18 months which was included in the EDA grant. Goal is to have the design completed in 2010 and under construction Summer 2011. Director Baker asked the Committee to commit to the width of the sidewalk and the location of curbs in the Promenade. Mr. Alpert stated that a revised memo on the Auburn Junction will be submitted to staff for review and then brought back to the Committee. Mr. Alpert also stated that the city should move forward and the developer will integrate the City's plans into the Auburn Junction project. Committee requested staff to work with the Alpert team and the City Hall Plaza designer, to incorporate the Boulder, CO pictures into the Plaza design. It was agreed that the review would identify the look and feel and not specific features. Any changes to the City Hall Plaza design and how the plaza works with the Promenade will be brought back to a future meeting. V. ADJOURNMENT There being no further business to come before the Downtown Redevelopment Committee, Vice Chair Singer adjourned the meeting at 5:27 p.m. APPROVED THIS DAY OF OCTOBER 2009. ue Signer, Vic hair Renee S. Tobias, Planning Secretary Page 5