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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2015-10-14_BVAC_Minutes_Approved CITY OF NEWPORT BEACH BALBOA VILLAGE ADVISORY COMMITTEE MINUTES Location: City Council Chambers at Former City Hall 3300 Newport Boulevard Wednesday, October 14, 2015 - 4:00 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. I. CALL MEETING TO ORDER Mayor Pro Tem Dixon called the meeting to order at 4:05 p.m. The following persons were in attendance: Balboa Village Advisory Committee Members: Diane Dixon, Mayor Pro Tem (Chair) Tony Petros, Council Member Gloria Oakes, Balboa Peninsula Point Association Ralph Rodheim, Balboa Village Merchants Association Grace Dove, Central Newport Beach Community Association Tom Pollack, ExplorOcean Representative — Absent Jim Stratton, At-Large Representative Staff Members: Kimberly Brandt, Community Development Director Brenda Wisneski, Deputy Community Development Director Benjamin Zdeba, Associate Planner II. PUBLIC COMMENT ON NON-AGENDIZED ITEMS (comments limited to 3 minutes) Interested parties were invited to address the Committee on Non-Agendized Items. Jim Mosher referenced the Council adoption of a parking benefit district as recommended by the BVAC last year and questioned whether or not a governing body had been established to oversee the parking benefit district funds. Additionally, he noted hearing a comment on several occasions during previous BVAC meetings that Balboa Village is considered the heart and soul of Newport Beach, but reported that at the last Planning Commission meeting, it considered many development transfers in Newport Center and the Chair claimed that Newport Center is the heart of Newport Beach. Committee Member Rodheim noted that former Mayor Nancy Gardner coined the phrase, "Balboa - heart and soul of the city". Regarding the governing body for the parking district funds, Community Development Director Kimberly Brandt stated that she will check with staff and follow up on the matter. III. ITEMS FOR REVIEW 1. MINUTES OF SEPTEMBER 9, 2015 (ATTACHMENT 1) Recommended Action: Approve September 9, 2015 Minutes. Mayor Pro Tem Dixon opened public comments. Seeing none, Mayor Pro Tem Dixon closed public comments. Action: Committee Member Rodheim moved to approve the minutes from the September 9, 2015, as presented, and Committee Member Stratton seconded the motion. The motion passed 5 - 1, with Committee Member Dove, abstaining. 2. SHUTTLE PROGRAM (ATTACHMENT 2) Recommended Action: Review program description and provide direction for next steps. Community Development Director Brenda Wisneski provided a brief overview of the City's prospective shuttle program and addressed a potential grant from the Orange County Transportation Authority (OCTA), guidelines, application deadline, and the importance of input from Committee Members regarding the overall concept. She reviewed the prospective program and noted the targeted lot, which is a City owned lot, on Coast Highway and Superior Avenue, as a good potential starting point for the program to evaluate its ridership. Discussion followed regarding the adequacy of the targeted lot, potential use of the Hoag lot and the shuttle for Sunset Ridge Park. Council Member Petros reported that the Sunset Ridge Park shuttle is not well-used; however, it should not be used as an indicator of usage for the subject shuttle program. Community Development Director Wisneski provided an overview of the goal of the program, operating hours, number of shuttles required, waiting time, potential drop-off locations, outsourcing, the need for aggressive marketing, operating costs, potential OCTA funds and the City's contribution. Council Member Petros commended staff and noted this prospective program provides a clear vision. He took exception to the notion that the goal is to reduce the number of vehicles on the Peninsula and reducing congestion stating that no matter what the City does, there will be congestion on the Peninsula. He added there is an inherent demand that cannot simply be addressed by a shuttle and commented that the shuttle would provide choice in mobility, which would act as a buzzword for OCTA funding. As such he suggested replacing "reducing congestion" with "choice in mobility". Additionally, he reported speaking with OCTA representatives about the targeted lot and commented on the availability of other funds by potentially combining the shuttle program with a bike station and other modalities and amenities. Regarding marketing, he encouraged staff to work with Visit Newport. Committee Member Rodheim suggested ensuring that vehicles utilize geographic positioning systems (GPS) to provide beneficial information to riders by way of a mobile phone application. Committee Member Dove expressed concerns regarding the limited number of parking spaces in the proposed lot, whether or not the lot will be used only for shuttle riders, and whether or not there will be bike racks on the shuttles. Committee Member Stratton discussed providing mobility for residents of the Balboa Peninsula and the possibility of adding more stops along Balboa Boulevard. Mayor Pro Tem Dixon agreed with Council Member Petros' comments regarding the merit of the prospective program and liked the idea of keeping it small while focusing on a summer pilot program. She commented on the potential route and on the possibility of dividing the Peninsula into two circular routes. Discussion followed regarding the targeted users and the possibility of extending the hours later in the evening. It was stressed that the program should be implemented in a small scale format and could be expanded if the demand grows. Committee Member Rodheim expressed a desire to be sure the shuttle program scope accounts for the annual Christmas Boat Parade. Mayor Pro Tem Dixon addressed total operating costs for one year, adding marketing and signage, the City's contribution, and next steps. She noted the need to give it time to be successful. Mayor Pro Tem Dixon opened public comments. George Schroeder spoke in support of the program and agreed with Council Member Petros' comments. Additionally, he expressed concerns regarding the capacity of the parking lot, potential traffic backups and noted the previous existence of a free shuttle service on the Peninsula. Marcel Ford commented on the shuttle program in Laguna Beach and another he experienced in Mammoth Lakes, California. He suggested having an open-type shuttle as opposed to an enclosed vehicle to improve the "experience" factor. Maryanne Zippi commented positively on the proposed program. Jim Mosher stated that it was not made completely clear that the shuttle will be free to the riders nor does it make known what the capacity of the shuttles will be. He added that the parking lot at Superior Avenue is not currently free and noted that the lot gets full on summer weekends. Discussion followed regarding the need to consider the parking lot situation as parking should be prioritized for shuttle riders. Kelly Carlson expressed concerns regarding the capacity of the targeted parking lot, noting that it may not be large enough. She noted that many beach-goers already use that lot. Discussion followed regarding the possibility of using other parking lots, overflow parking and having a potential backup plan for parking. Mayor Pro Tem Dixon closed public comments. Deputy Community Development Director Wisneski addressed next steps and noted there will be additional information to share with the Committee in a couple of months. Action: No action required. 3. BVMA SPECIAL EVENTS FUNDING (ATTACHMENT 3) Recommended Action: Receive information and approve funding. Deputy Community Development Director Wisneski provided background and details of the attachment. She addressed available funds ($7,500) and direction to have the BVAC identify how those funds will be used. She provided a list of possible Balboa Village Merchants Association (BVMA) events and noted BVMA's request for BVAC's support of the three proposed events including the Balboa Craft Beer Festival, Village Music Festival and the Village Festival. Discussion followed regarding events selling tickets, prior approval of $2,500 by Council for the Village Festival and the desire to have fewer events that are bigger and better rather than several small events. Ensuing discussion with a representative of the BVMA pertained to next steps, allocating $2,500 per event, the possibility of charging for the events, security, reduced fees for designated drivers and marketing efforts for the Balboa Craft Beer Festival. Mayor Pro Tem Dixon opened public comments. Jim Mosher expressed concern with regard to how the money would be spent if there is no identified budget and felt that the Beer Festival will be self-supporting given that tickets are being sold and so wondered why taxpayers are being asked to subsidize it. Discussion followed regarding parking funds generated within the Village going towards revitalization. It was suggested to have and review accounting documentation for each event prepared by the organization receiving funding. Marcel Ford stated that the BVMA has a budget which accounts for all revenues and expenses at each event. Community Development Director Brandt noted that the Committee has the discretion of allocating funds to the various events in specified amounts. Mr. Ford commented that the goal is to have the events pay for themselves in the future, with no need for City funding. Mayor Pro Tem Dixon closed public comments. Action: Council Member Petros moved to authorize $7,500 for the Balboa Craft Beer Festival, Village Music Festival and the Village Festival. Committee Member Rodheim seconded the motion. The motion passed unanimously 6 — 0. 4. OUTDOOR SEATING PILOT PROGRAM (ATTACHMENT 4) Recommended Action: No action required. Deputy Community Development Director Wisneski provided an update on this item noting that Council adopted an outdoor seating pilot program for the Village. Associate Planner Benjamin Zdeba provided a brief overview of the program and noted there has been interest already expressed in the program, noting more information will be provided in the near future. Council Member Petros expressed concerns regarding adjacencies with respect to neighboring uses. Discussion followed regarding eligibility and review criteria relative to being adjacent to sensitive noise receptors and not getting to the design phase if there is a potential for negative impacts. Mayor Pro Tem Dixon opened public comments. George Schroeder asked regarding outdoor dining and alcohol service. It was noted that per City code, if alcohol is being served, the area has to be enclosed. Jim Mosher commented on a prior meeting where the outdoor dining had been presented as a temporary summer program. Additionally, he expressed concerns about obstructing sidewalks. Deputy Community Development Director Wisneski stated that it is a pilot program through the end of 2016. W. R. Dildine commented on existing conditions where the public right-of-way is being obstructed. Mayor Pro Tem Dixon closed public comments. Committee Member Rodheim commented on the need to maintain some restrictions, a desire for restaurants to be successful, and the need to be progressive while still protecting residents. Mayor Pro Tem Dixon commended staff for their work on this matter. Action: No action required. IV. PUBLIC COMMENT - None Deputy Community Development Director Wisneski reported that the Committee's November meeting falls on Veterans Day so the BVAC meeting for November could be cancelled, with the next meeting held on December 9th. She addressed potential items for upcoming discussions. Discussion followed regarding the status of the RP3 program, the process for administering the parking revenue and the status of the Commercial Fagade Improvement Program and the status of the Balboa Theater. V. ADJOURNMENT (Meeting End Time: 5:30 p.m.) The meeting adjourned at 5:11 p.m. Next Meeting Date: December 9, 2015 at 4:00 p.m.