Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAboutITEM III-AC ~ DRAFT PLANNING & COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT COMMITTEE * ~HIG~"OI APRIL 26, 2010 MINUTES I. CALL TO ORDER Chair Lynn Norman called the meeting to order at 5:00 p.m. in Annex Conference Room 1 located on the second floor of One Main Building, 1 East Main Street, Auburn, WA. Committee members present were: Chair Lynn Norman and Vice Chair Nancy Backus. Member Rich Wagner was excused. Staff members present included: Interim Director Kevin Snyder, Planning Manager Elizabeth Chamberlain, Assistant City Attorney Steve Gross, Finance Director Shelley Coleman and Planning Secretary Renee Tobias. Audience members included: Wayne Osborne, Kathleen Keator, Kayla Preiss, Tiffany McDonald, Robert Spears, Eric Haugland, Danette Olson, Samantha Wold, Jennifer Tanner and Laurie West. II. ANNOUNCEMENTS AND AGENDA MODIFICATIONS III. CONSENT AGENDA A. Minutes -April 12, 2010 Member Backus moved to approve the minutes as presented; Chair Norman concurred. MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY 2-0 IV. ACTION A. Consultant Agreement AG-C-386 Planning Manager Elizabeth Chamberlain presented the staff report to the Committee. City Council approved Resolution No. 3985 supporting the redevelopment of the City Hall Plaza into a Town Center Plaza forthe area around the intersection of West Main and Division Street. Phase 1 of this project is identified in the 2010-2015 Capital Facilities Plan for $688,500. However, through the Local Revitalization Funding statute, the City is able to fund the balance of the project. Total project cost is estimated to be $1.98 million for the City Hall Plaza. The scope of the consultant agreement includes the completion of a final design for the Plaza and providing up to two conceptual design options for the extension of the Plaza south across Main Street onto the Marvel Building site. The consultant contract is anticipated to not exceed $320,000. Staff held informal interviews with three design consultants selected from the MSRC Rosters and chose MAKERS Architecture & Urban Design Company. MAKERS will take the conceptual plan, which was approved by the Downtown Redevelopment Planning and Community Development Committee Minutes April 26, 200 Committee in March 2009, and implement into actual design plans and eventually construction. Member Backus moved to forward AG-C-386 to full City Council for consideration; Chair Norman concurred MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY 2-0 V. DISCUSSION A. Ordinance No. 6305- May Bond Issuance Finance Director Shelley Coleman presented Ordinance No. 6305 to the Committee. Finance staff has completed the official statement and bond ordinances per the Schedule of Events to sell bonds on May 3, 2010, closing on May 13, 2010. The proceeds will be made available for certain uses and projects as identified in the agenda packet. Ms. Coleman reported that the annual savings to the City for buying the space in the One Main Building in lieu of continuing the lease is approximately $385,000 over the next 30 years. B. Business Improvement Area (BIA) Planning Manager Elizabeth Chamberlain provided a brief background on the Business Improvement Area (BIA). The BIA was formed in 1988 through the efforts of the BIA Advisory Committee which worked to identify solutions for problems that affected the viability of businesses within Auburn's Central Business District, pursuant to RCW 35.87A and City Ordinance No. 4293. Ms. Chamberlain reviewed the roles and responsibilities of the three entities involved in the BIA as identified in the agenda packet (Committee of Ratepayers, Auburn Downtown Association and the City of Auburn). Currently, the Auburn Downtown Association administers the BIA. The following are some of the key items in the ADA 2010 work plan: • With the new Executive Director, the ADA is back on its feet working towards accomplishing their 2010 work plan • New ADA website (www.auburndt.org) • A business directory for the businesses within the BIA • Continued work on events C. Downtown Traffic Impact Fee Exemption Interim Director Kevin Snyder presented the background history on the downtown traffic impact fee system. The following are the highlights from this presentation. • The City Council adopted the Downtown Plan in May 2001 which included Policy 6-2 that specifies that if the City adopted a traffic impact fee system, consideration should be given to waiving the fee within the downtown, with the intent that the waiver sunset after a five year period unless Council extended it. Page 2 Planning and Community Development Committee Minutes April 26, 200 • On May 19, 2008, the City Council approved Ordinance No. 6178 extending the traffic impact fee exemption sunset date for the `Downtown Catalyst Area' for an additional two years to June 30, 2010. • The City Council's previous approvals of the traffic impact fee exemption for the `Downtown Catalyst Area' was based on its determination that promoting economic development in this Area is beneficial to the City and serves a broad public purpose. The Committee was in support of the proposed ordinance to amend ACC Section 19.04.070.A.9. D. Resolution No. 4594 - EDA Grant Acceptance Planning Manager Elizabeth Chamberlain stated that the City presented the South Division Street Promenade project to the Economic Development District Board (of Puget South Regional Council) on December 12, 2007. The City's project was ranked number 1 by this board to the Economic Development Administration (EDA). The City submitted apre-application for investment assistance August 2008 and was then informed by EDA that the City met the demographic requirements for investment assistance November 2008. The pre-application was approved and the City was invited to submit a formal application on June 2, 2009. The City's formal application was submitted August 27, 2009 and the review process with EDA began. The application was forwarded to the Washington, DC EDA office for review in February 2010 and the City received Notice of Investment Award on April 14, 2010. The investment award is for $3,000,000 with a 50% match required; EDA's contribution to the total project cost is 38%. The total project cost for the South Division Street Promenade is estimated at $7,800,000 and the City's funding source for the balance of the estimated project cost, which is $4,800,000, is through Local Revitalization Funding. Ms. Chamberlain reported that eleven proposals were received by the April 20, 2010 deadline. Staff have identified fourfirms and completed the interviews today. It is anticipated to have the selected firm's contract ready for Council's approval by June 1, 2010. Staff confirmed that the deadline for the start of construction must be within 24 months of the City's acceptance and that the project must be completed within 24 months afterwards. E. PCDC Status Matrix The Committee agreed to identify any topics or items they wish the Hearing Examiner to present in July 2010. F. ADJOURNMENT There being no further business to come before the Planning and Community Development Committee, Chair Norman adjourned the meeting at 5:38 p.m. Page 3 Planning and Community Development Committee Minutes April 26, 200 APPROVED THIS DAY OF MAY 2010. Lynn Norman, Chair Renee S. Tobias, Planning Secretary Page 4