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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2011-11-10 Approved MinutesAPPROVED Meeting Action Minutes NEIGHBORHOOD REVITALIZATION COMMITTEE Location: Council Chambers Thursday, November 10, 2011 - 4:00 p.m. 1. Welcome and Introduction Mayor Henn convened the meeting at 4:05 p.m. The following persons were in attendance: Committee Members • Mayor Michael Henn (Chair) • Council Member Rush Hill • Council Member Ed Selich City Staff • Kimberly Brandt, Community Development Director • Dave Webb, Deputy Public Works Director • Leonie Mulvihill, Assistant City Attorney • Brenda Wisneski, Deputy Community Development Director • Dennis Stone, Project Consultant • Monika Goodwin, Administrative Assistant 2. Approval of Minutes for October 13, 2011 Council Member Selich moved to approve the minutes of October 13, 2011, Council Member Hill seconded with the exception of items regarding the West Newport Beach CAP, and the minutes were approved unanimously. Mayor Henn noted that Council Member Hill will be recused on items for West Newport Beach CAP; and Mayor Henn recused himself from participation regarding the Lido Village /City Hall CAP due to potential conflict of interests. 3. Status of CAPS a. West Newport Council Member Selich noted the meeting of November 9th aimed to finish reviewing landscaping concepts for three segments: 1) Superior Avenue from Ticonderoga Street to West Coast Highway; 2) Intersection of Balboa Boulevard and West Coast Highway to Mixmaster; and 3) West Coast Highway from Santa Ana River to Newport Boulevard bridge. He noted CAP's in -depth discussion and the CAP committee's approval to forward the Balboa Boulevard segment including the intersection with West Coast Highway to the NRC. In December, the two remaining segments, West Coast Highway and Superior Avenue, will be reviewed. The CAP hopes to bring all three items to the December 15'h NRC meeting. b. Balboa Villaoe Mayor Henn noted a good October 26`h CAP meeting and asked to hear the vision statement the CAP members had arrived at and Ms. Brandt read the statement, "Balboa Village ... a unique Neighborhood Revitalization Committee 2 Meeting Action Minutes November 10, 2011 destination between the bay and sea where history meets the excitement of the future." The committee also considered the work done by the Project 2000 group which includes a considerable amount of citizen effort and many recommendations for the entire peninsula. Many of these recommendations were implemented and some of them were not. After review and discussion it was decided that some of these incomplete recommendations might be included in this CAP's recommendations. It is very important for this group not to produce a plan that will sit on the shelf. Future meetings will focus on substantial issues such as parking and will be assisted by a parking consultant for additional guidance. Ms. Brandt said in Keyser Marston, Assoc. was hired to help with economic analysis for all of West Newport, Balboa Village and Lido Village, to assist the CAPs in their work effort. Mayor Henn stated that the parking consultant assisting with Lido Village and Balboa Village is Nelson Nygaard, not Walker Parking Consultants. Mr. Jim Mosher stated that the existing guidelines and the ExplorOcean project have not been compared. Ms. Brandt said this was correct since ExplorOcean has not formally submitted an application to the City yet and at this point the design put forward by the museum is conceptual. The actual submittal will receive a formal review by the City. C. Corona del Mar Entry Council Member Hill noted the CAP had not met since the October 13`h NRC meeting, but will meet on Nov. 16th. Consultant Dennis Stone, the CAP's coordinator, said the next meeting will include an aerial overlaid with diagrams, lanes, and recommended changes to get concurrence on the engineering issues involved and move forward with the design discussions. d. Santa Ana Heights /Bristol Street Mayor Henn said after two meetings with only two CAP members, the consensus was to present CAP's recommendations to the NRC. Consultant Dennis Stone stated that public input was considered and integrated into the final plan by staff and the project landscape architect. The CAP members concluded their work as CAP and deferred to staff to produce a plan based on their input. He acknowledged the participation of CAP members Tim Stoaks and Sarah Wilkinson. He noted that landscape architect Harry Kobzeff of TCLA is very familiar with this area of the City and has completed several other similar landscaping projects in the City. Senior Civil Engineer Iris Lee pointed out the displayed large plans of Bristol Street, south side between Irvine Avenue and Jamboree Road. She discussed the existing constraints of many overhead and underground utilities. The CAP committee and public input were of a three -prong focus: 1) Request to represent Santa Ana Heights' identity, which includes Santa Ana Heights Fire Station, Mesa -Birch Park area, and Bristol Street North; 2) Request for architectural features such as pillars similar to ones at Mesa -Birch Park; 3) Request for not restricting views the existing eucalyptus trees flanking SR -73, within Caltrans right -of -way. Ms. Lee stated that staff proposed an entry monument sign that is consistent with the City standard signs, located east of Irvine Avenue, and some additional pillars to provide some architectural Neighborhood Revitalization Committee 3 Meeting Action Minutes November 10, 2011 elements in the area. She pointed out that this is a fairly high -speed corridor. The proposed landscaping will generally follow a terraced theme where the low growing ground cover will be installed closer to the roadside, followed by medium growth vegetation and grasses, and a hedge to screen the 6- foot -high Caltrans fencing adjacent to SR -73. The plant material will also be grouped by color and texture to break -up the monotonous feel through the stretch of the project location. Trees are also planned for locations where streets are keying into Bristol Street. Proposed are 20 to 30 feet high Crape Myrtle trees with pink color and Brisbane Box trees that are green and oval and not competing with overhead lines. Also proposed is lush green vegetation to cover up the backflow device on the corner of Irvine Avenue and Bristol Street. Council Member Selich asked for examples where Crape Myrtle trees in the City are growing well, and told his bad experience with them being extremely slow growing trees. Ms. Lee said this is of the Japanese variety and is supposed to be moderate growing. A member of the audience spoke about the beauty of the flowering crape trees. Council Member Selich wondered about the entry sign's location and Ms. Lee said the reason is that the backflow device would block the monument sign if it were moved any closer to Irvine Avenue. Council Members Hill and Selich preferred to move the sign further back and Ms. Lee said this was possible to achieve. Council Member Hill asked about palm trees on the south side and Ms. Lee explained they are the same palm trees as at the Irvine Company area. Mayor Henn inquired whether additional work could be incorporated, such as landscaping on the west side of Bristol Street beyond Irvine Avenue, to which Ms. Lee explained that this is not under the City's jurisdiction. He asked if staff had captured an additional list of recommendations and Ms. Lee noted that these are typical sections and can be easily included for should the project scope expand. Mr. Webb said some recorded minute items could be used to produce a list for later incorporation. Mayor Henn highlighted the importance to consider these items for a later date and include them as supplemental items. A question was asked whether the overhead lines will be undergrounded and Ms. Lee said this was not likely to happen due to the high - powered transmission nature of the existing power lines. Mr. Jim Mosher remarked that West Newport has a similar "district" monument sign and asked if the proposed monument would be a Santa Ana Heights sign. Mayor Henn and Council Member Selich believed it was too much of a regional street for that sign's usage. Answering a question from Mayor Henn, Mr. Webb said the projects could move to the design level at this time with funding and extra CIP items as design construction. Council Member Selich sought to first establish a preliminary cost estimate to allow prioritization and then move on to the next phase. Mayor Henn and Council Members agreed to speedy progress for the project and requested returning to the next NRC meeting for clarification of some questions raised today. Mayor Henn departed the meeting at this time. e. Lido Village /City Hall Council Member Hill said the CAP committee was very productive and stated that today's presentation was the conclusion of their work. Neighborhood Revitalization Committee 4 Meeting Action Minutes November 10, 2011 Ms. Brandt noted that the final document was not quite completed. However, the 90% draft design was unanimously recommended by the Planning Commission and forwarded to Council. She explained that this project was different from the CIP projects for West Newport, Santa Ana Heights, and Corona del Mar, as these are proposed design guidelines for Lido Village. Mr. Jim Campbell provided an overview for the draft design's six chapters, addressing existing conditions, parking, and architect as well as landscape guidelines. He recalled the Planning Commission's recommended approval and extensive public outreach via an extremely well attended community Open House on October 6`h that produced much public feedback for the final edition. He noted the two different architectural styles of "Coastal" and "Maritime" as the preferred architectural styles. He pointed out the flexibility of the guidelines and that different proposed architectural styles will also be considered and the possibility for additional parking modifications. He noted the compilation of public comments was received, and spoke on rehabilitation programs and other incentives such as repay programs and fee reductions that Council will be reviewing at a future date. The final draft will be available on 11/20. Council Member Hill reminded that these are guidelines for new projects or renovations, and not mandates requiring modifications of existing buildings. He discussed the importance of the public space to help create an inviting neighborhood environment for people to mingle, wander, and enjoy outdoor entertainment. View and access to the harbor should be enjoyable. The dock concept in the Master Plan was an important element in concert with the pedestrian bridge to tie in to the Mariner's Mile. He strongly advocated the importance of the public landscape to create an atmosphere of consistency since a large part of the area was public land and does not require cooperation of individual land holders. Council Members Selich and Hill discussed whether Council is considering extending the Newport Boulevard landscape concept on and across the bridge. The CAP committee has concluded this phase before the NRC and hoped for NRC's recommendation to Council. Ms. Brandt noted the incomplete document and asked to return to the NRC meeting in December 15th to which Council Members Selich and Hill agreed. Consultant Tim Collins added that the stakeholder's final comments will be included in the final document. 4. Public Comment and Roundtable Discussion None 5. Set Next Meeting The next meeting was scheduled for December 15, 2011, at 4:00 p.m. 6. Adjournment The meeting was adjourned at 4:45 p.m.