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HomeMy WebLinkAboutITEM II-A * CiTY oF_ DRAFT 00 l'"IUBU DOWNTOWN REDEVELOPMENT COMMITTEE WASHINGTON FEBRUARY 9, 2010 MINUTES 1. CALL TO ORDER Chair Lynn Norman called the meeting to order at 4:00 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: Chair Lynn Norman, Vice Chair Sue Singer, and Member Nancy Backus. Staff present included: Mayor Pete Lewis, Interim Planning & Development Director Kevin ' Snyder, Principal Planner Eliiabeth Chamberlain, City Engineer Dennis Selle, Assistant City ' Engineer Ingrid Gaub, Traffic Operations Engineer Scott Nutter, Traffic Engineer Pablo Para, and Planning & Development Secretary Renee Tobias. " Audience Members present were: Gail Spurrell, Jack Saelid, Kathleen Keator, and Val Erickson. II. CONSENT AGENDA A. Meeting Minutes - January 26, 2010 Member Singer moved and Member Backus seconded to approve the minutes as amended below. MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY 3-0 Page 3, third paragraph: Change sentence to read, Further, the Committee did not have a problem with a green space in lieu of a plaza. Page 5, fifth paragraph: Change to read, The City's bike route maps shows 15` Street as a future bicycle route as shown in the City's Transportation Comprehensive Plan. Page 6, third paragraph: Change the last sentence to read, It is illegal to condemn private property for economic development, and furthermore, the City Council would not support it if it was legal. Mayor Pete Lewis stated that recently, State Attorney General Rob McKenna wrote a newspaper article based on a study that was done on a number of cities, using this article to say that Auburn had condemned public property for economic development. The City Attorney had already talked to this organization that did this study and noted that they confused two different efforts. When the City put in an application for an Economic Development Agency (EDA) grant, the City noted that downtown Auburn was in fact a blighted area as described by the State's statute. This terminology was used in the EDA grant application. Completely Page 1 Downtown Redevelopment Committee Minutes Februarv 9. 2010 , separate from that, the City had designed City Plaza circles along Division Street and for the first of those, Council had support condemning property in order to complete the traffic circle. As it turned out, the City never took it to condemnation because the City bought the one bar that was on the edge of that area. The organization that produced the study merged the two different statements and policies and tried to show them as one - that it was an economic development issue. It has been refuted by Auburn's City Attorney and State Attorney General McKenna has now said he will make no further statements, including about Auburn, and understands that Auburn did not, in fact, do what was originally stated. Chair Norman further added that at the time the City was submitting the EDA grant application, Council discussed in detail the use of the word "blighted" and had stated they were not comfortable doing so. But in order to meet the requirements of the State and Federai governments, the Council was pressed into using their terminology. It was not something that the City Council came up with. III. DISCUSSION A. Signal Controller and Service Equipment Traffic Operations Engineer Scott Nutter distributed photographs of past standard boxes and current standard boxes, along with information and photographs regarding signal cabinet contents. Mr. Nutter spoke about the scope of items needed inside the cabinets to support traffic signals, the reasons why the cabinets are the height and width they are, and the material used for the cabinetry. Mr. Nutter reviewed with the Committee the photographs depicting the first generation of battery backup cabinets (3 cabinets) and current standard configurations (2 cabinets) where the battery backup is part of the new Puget Sound Energy metered service. The signal cabinet needs to be close to the intersection as the technician must be able to see the entire intersection to verify vehicle detection, approaching traffic when changing the signal to flash for emergencies or signal configuration changes. Further, it is a safety issue that the signal technician needs to be able to see traffic when working behind the cabinet in case they need to move out of the way of traffic. The metered service cabinet should be within 50 feet of the signal to shut off power in an emergency. The door swing on the signal cabinets is approximately 30 inches and the battery backup cabinet has doors which open on both sides. Puget Sound Energy requires 36 inches of clear space around their meter pedestal and the meter must be 5 to 7 feet above ground. Using standard, off the shelf brushed aluminum cabinets is economical. Additionally, if the aluminum cabinet is tagged with graffiti, it can simply be removed with industrial chemicals which leave the cabinet looking like it did before the graffiti. This is not the case with the older style cabinets which are painted gray. Signal cabinets contain 120 volt AC power and low voltage and service cabinets contain 120 and 240 Volt AC power. Both need to be kept dry and above any potential standing water. With a high water table at some locations, some of the existing bases fill with Page 2 Downtown Redeveloament Committee Minutes Februarv 9. 2010 water and flows into the cabinet. The voltage used is greater than what Qwest or Comcast use for their fiber optics, which prohibits the signal operator sitting on a stool in front of the cabinet and the chance of coming in contact with water. City Engineer Dennis Selle noted that many downtown building footprints are built right up to the sidewalk. Therefore, signai cabinets were mounted on poles and have not been modified due to this. In future developments with intersection improvements, the cabinets could be set back and the City can look at screening opportunities. Chair Norman asked the Committee that when they see innovative or different ways to screen the cabinets in other jurisdictions to please take a picture and share with staff. Committee and staff discussed updating the Downtown Urban Center Design Standards with language about screening options for signal cabinets. Staff agreed that reviewing photographs of other jurisdictions' screening efforts would assist staff in providing the Committee with recommendations for screening and language for the Standards. B. A Street SE (Main Street to 3rd Street SE) Traffic Engineer Pablo Para distributed an aerial photograph of the A Street SE corridor from E. Main Street to 3rd Street SE/Cross Street SE. Mr. Para reported on the traffic analysis that looked at changing A Street SE from 2 southbound lanes and one northbound lane to one southbound and one northbound lane with a two-way turn lane. These changes would provide sufficient space and flexibility to add bike lanes or wider sidewalks or parking within the current street width. The traffic analysis was based on the 2015 traffic model volumes. Some of the assumptions of the analysis included the A/B Corridor being completed. The analysis showed that there was not a significant negative impact on traffic on A Street SE between E Main Street and 2ntl Street SE. However, a significant impact would occur at 3`d Street SE/Cross Street SE with removing the second southbound lane. Mr. Para also stated that it was feasible to install traffic signal at 1 st Street SE and A Street SE which would facilitate safe easUwest pedestrian access across A Street SE. Mr. Para reported that the model did show that traffic diverted when the second southbound lane was removed. The volumes decreased, but not significantly. Again, this is predicated on the completion of the A/B Corridor. Staff stated that the proposed change meets the City's level of service standards for projected traffic volumes. Staff recommended that these changes not be made until the A/B Corridor is completed. Committee supported staff's recommendation. C. Status of the City Hall Plaza Principal Planner Elizabeth Chamberlain stated that staff met on January 27, 2010 to discuss the 2010 Capital Project spreadsheet and resourcing of the project. Staff confirmed that the Plaza design funds are in the 2010 Capital Facilities Plan. Planning staff are working on consultant selection, scope of work, and contract. The consultant will be hired to design the Plaza based on the approved 2009 City Hall Plaza Renovation Master Plan and the prioritization effort by the Committee. Staff distributed a worksheet, "City Hall Plaza Final Preliminary Plan", which identified the Committee's prioritization for shoR and long range elements of the project. Committee reviewed the worksheet, providing feedback to staff. Page 3 Downtown Redeveloament Committee Minutes Februarv 9. 2010 ~ IV. ADJOURNMENT There being no further business to come before the Downtown Redevelopment Committee, Chair Norman adjourned the meeting at 5:08 p.m. APPROVED THIS DAY OF MARCH, 2010. Lynn Norman, Chair Renee S. Tobias, Planning Secretary Page 4