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HomeMy WebLinkAbout07/11/2006 - Study SessionCITY OF NEWPORT BEACH City Council Minutes Study Session July 11, 2006 — 3:30 P.M. ROLL CALL Present: Council Member Curry, Council Member Selich, Mayor Webb, Council Member Daigle, Council Member Nichols Excused: Mayor Pro Tern Rosansky, Council Member Ridgeway Mayor Pro Tern Rosansky arrived at 3:54 p.m. CURRENT BUSINESS 1. CLARIFICATION OF ITEMS ON THE CONSENT CALENDAR. Regarding Item 4 (1/1 Memorial Committee), Council Member Nichols suggested having something that commemorates all servicemen. In response to Council Member Nichols' questions relative to Item 5 (Newport Coast Community Center), Public Works Director Badum clarified that the contract amendment is to hire geotechnical services since it was not included in the contract when the project was awarded. He confirmed that the City has used the firm on an as- needed basis since 2002. In response to Council Member Nichols' questions regarding Item 8 (Eelgrass Planting and Survey), Assistant City Manager Kiff indicated that the contract is mostly to conduct a survey, but some eelgrass planting will be done to establish fields away from docks. Regarding Item 9 (Proposed Underground Assessment District No. 92), Council Member Nichols received clarification from Mayor Webb that the rezoning in the General Plan Update does not affect this area. 2. BILL FICKER PRESENTATION. [351100 -20061 Bill Ficker indicated that he began this process after having concerns about the City's operations and personnel schedules. He utilized a PowerPoint presentation to discuss his plan for a one -story City Hall at the site above the Central Library and indicated that he will have a display at his office (417 30th Street) starting in October. He pointed out that he did not intend to design the building but the building in his plan is only about 24 feet longer than the proposed City Hall. He also discussed the elevations and stated that the City Hall would be about 12 to 14 feet below the view plane. He added that 157,000 cubic yards of dirt would need to be removed, but the site would still have a usable park. He recommended including the same path that is in the Newport Center Park plan. He noted that access can be obtained off of Avocado, MacArthur, and Farallon and reviewed the parking structure as it relates to the library. He displayed the views from the site. He stated that City Hall functions will not be interrupted during construction. He noted that public buildings can be built on public property, as long as it benefits the most amount of people. He believed that using this site for City Hall will allow the City to do the park correctly with native Volume 57 - Page 728 City of Newport Beach Study Session Minutes July 11, 2006 landscaping. He expressed concern with excavating 52,000 cu. yards for the park. Mr. Ficker believed that the City shouldn't build the City Hall at its current location due to potential disasters and access issues. He displayed an overview of the property exchanges and expressed concern with the location of the fire station and the unused entry from Finley. He believed that the current site should not be sold, but the City should convert the Chambers into a community space, keep the lobby and front tower, and use the remainder of the land for an urban park if the site above the Central Library is to be used for the City Hall. Mr. Ficker believed that the current City Hall plan is not a good plan, is expensive, and will affect the operation of City Hall. He added that, if this were put to a vote, the entire community will have the opportunity to vote on the issue. He provided Council with a summary of his recommendations. In response to Council questions, Mr. Ficker indicated that excavation and grading will cost about $2 million, but this does not include costs involved with handling endangered species. He confirmed that designing the 68,000 sq. ft. building would be the next step, but believed that each side of the building can be 300' x 200' and 20' high. He believed that a portion of the building could be two - story, but expressed concern about conducting more excavation. He discussed possible parking alternatives, but confirmed that he has not conducted any traffic analysis. He believed that there will not be any water issues on the site since the library's basement is at an elevation of about 120. He displayed an overlay of how the proposed City Hall at the current location would fit onto the site above the library. Mayor Webb expressed concern with what affects a City Hall would have to views and suggested placing an urban park on the roof of City Hall to help mitigate the views. Recreation and Services Director Knight provided a handout of the Newport Center Park plan and reviewed the history of the site. Mark Reader, Hall and Foreman, reported on the various consultants they have used on this project and utilized a PowerPoint presentation to discuss the design of the park. He reviewed the studies that were conducted to locate the environmentally sensitive areas which were mostly located in the northern portion and how the construction of the park will not impact these areas. He indicated that about 70,000 cu. yards would be removed, but they will be reusing about 11,000 cu. yards back onto the park site. He discussed the parking areas and lighting, and indicated that the trees they do plant will respect the view planes of the Harbor View residents. In response to Council questions, Mr. Reader reviewed the design of the amphitheater and stated that it is at an elevation of about 170, but reported that the ramp from the parking lot complies with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) guidelines. He indicated that there will be street parking available off of Avocado and north of Farallon. He indicated that the parking lot at Farallon can be added back into the plan. He reported that they also added a storm drain system in the parking lot with added catch basins to collect water. He explained the concept drawing which would remove coastal sage scrub and replace it with California native landscaping. Debra Allen, Chair of the Park Development Committee and member of the Parks, Beaches & Recreation Commission, took issue that the proposed plan takes away the large turf area and only leaves the habitat area. She noted that the site is not in the Coastal zone but it gives the City an opportunity to show that it can create a combination park. She Volume 57 - Page 729 City of Newport Beach Study Session Minutes July 11, 2006 emphasized that park plans are completed. She took issue with the retaining walls, the City Hall being 30 feet higher than the library, and the parking structure lights which will be in the resident's view plane. Tom Moulson noted that the park site has not been appraised and asked Council to also take the social costs into consideration. Dennis Baker expressed opposition to the taking of park land. However, if City Hall were built there, he presented Council with a Rana Creek brochure to possibly put landscaping on the roof of City Hall. Elizabeth Stahr noted that she and her husband helped raise money for the Central Library and expressed concern that the City will never get another group to raise money again if it changes its mind about the Newport Center Park. She noted that the library pumps water daily and that there is not enough parking. She took issue with the traffic problem that will be escalated at San Miguel if City Hall were built on that site. George Jeffries agreed that San Miguel has major traffic issues and presented his solution to mitigate it. He encouraged Council to consider a City Hall site that is not located on the Peninsula due to disaster concerns. Barry Allen noted that the 1998 Recreation and Open Space Element reported that Corona del Mar did not have enough parks. He emphasized that the Newport Center Park has funding. He took issue that The Irvine Company, as one of the signers of the CIOSA agreement, approves designation changes for this site when they didn't want to negotiate with the City for the Corporate Plaza West site. Nancy Gardner expressed concern with setting this type of precedence. She stated that, even if a park were created on the current City Hall site, the City asked residents to raise funds for the Newport Center Park. She questioned whether anyone would want to give money after this. Ben Schmid supported Mr. Ficker's plan, presented photos of retaining walls along Sailhouse Lane and Sea Lane, and distributed a handout that shows that construction costs have declined in the past six months. Jan Vandersloot discussed the history of the site and presented Council with a concept illustration and the two agreements the City signed regarding the site. He discussed the views from the southern portion of the park and noted that there are also environmentally sensitive areas in the southern portion. He requested that, if City Hall were to be built on the site, it be built on the most southern edge of the site and that the parking lot be removed from the plan. Ann Malestan reported that she has worked hard to keep the site open space and invited everyone to experience the views. James Turner expressed his support for Mr. Ficker's plan. Lucille Kuehn indicated that Mr. Ficker's plan opened everyone's eyes to the possibility of building the City Hall someplace else other than the current location. Bernie Svalsted noted that they initially raised $1.2 million for the Newport Center Park but now only have $600,000. He suggested getting a 99 -year lease with the option to buy the Volume 57 - Page 730 City of Newport Beach Study Session Minutes July 11, 2006 Corporate Plaza West site Garrett Smith, architect, supported for Mr. Ficker's plan and expressed concern about the possibility of liquefaction and floods at the current location. Ron Hendrickson expressed support for building City Hall on the park site, believing that there will still be an ample park site at MacArthur and Avocado. He expressed concern that the noise from MacArthur would disturb the amphitheater. Barton Beek expressed support of the proposed plan so it frees the current City Hall site to be a park in the heart of the traditional City. He believed that the community won't use the Newport Center Park, City Hall will always create a traffic problem no matter where it's located, and the ocean will rise 1.5 feet within 50 years. Mayor Webb asked staff to come back with a report relative to how Council can place an advisory question on the November ballot that would indicate that site above the Central Library would be exchanged for the current City Hall site, with the understanding that no environmental documentation has been generated and that this would have to be done prior to City Hall being built on the park land. He noted that there might be language changes in the new General Plan if this occurs. He clarified that the current City Hall site would become open space. Council Member Curry believed that the City cannot define all the issues with the site in time to place the question on the ballot. He noted that this is the type of decision that the public expects Council to make after it weighs all the data. Council Member Selich agreed with Council Member Curry. He reported that the Police and Fire Station site was a possibility from the City Hall Site Review Committee, but it fell short due to the constraints the Committee had. He noted that the City already owns the site, the building would be multi- story, and the site is in a central location without needing to take away any park land. Council Member Daigle stated that she knows an architect who may be presenting a plan for a civic center. She agreed with Council Member Selich and noted that it seems like the desire is to be more centrally located. Council Member Nichols believed that City Hall won't be a sight impediment for the residents and that traffic can be improved by extending Farallon. He stated that the advisory vote may be moot once more information is presented. Mayor Pro Tem Rosansky noted that a majority of Council cannot agree on this issue and believed that more study may be needed. He stated that he would support the Mayor's suggestion for an advisory vote only if the park site were to be considered for City Hall. Further, he would insist that there not be a net loss of park site in the City. Regarding the Newport Center Park plan, he indicated that he does not like the location of the parking lot and believed that it should be on more level ground. 3. NEWPORT COAST PARKS - Continued to the July 25, 2006 Study Session. Volume 57 - Page 731 City of Newport Beach Study Session Minutes July 11, 2006 PUBLIC COMMENTS Dolores Otting noted that people wanted an advisory vote one and a half years ago. She commended Council for considering leaving the current site and expressed support for relocating to the Police and Fire Station site. ADJOURNMENT - 6:15 p.m. om City Clerk 14alr-C Q ,, �Yfwk—/ Recording Secretary 0— v" Mayor Volume 57 - Page 732