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HomeMy WebLinkAboutPCDC Minutes 12/13/1976SPECIAL MEETING ROLL CALL APPROVAL OF MINUTES LETTER FROM PROJECT AREA COMMITTEE SIGN COMMITTEE CHAIRMAN PETALUMA COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT COMMISSION Minutes of Meeting Monday, December 13, 1976-- 9:00 a.m. The Special Meeting:of the Petaluma Community Development Commission was called to order by Chairman Helen Putnam at the hour of 9:00 a.m. The reason for the call for Special Meeting was to change the meeting time from 4:00 -p.m. to 9:00 a.m. Present: Commissioners Brunner*, Cavanagh*',- Harberson*, Hilligoss, Mattei, Perry, and Chairman Putnam Absent None * Commissioner Brunner arrived at 9:25 a.m. Commissioner Cavanagh arrived at 10:17 a.m. Commissioner Harberson arrived at 9:45 a.m_ The Minutes of November 8, 1976, were approved as mailed. A letter dated December 8, 1976, addressed :to the Petaluma Community Development Commission and signed by Clark Thompson„ Chairman of the Sign Committee of the -Project Area Committee, was read by the Recording Secretary and ordered filed. Mr. Clark Thompson was present .in the audience and stated one of the goals of the Sign Committee of the Project Area Committee is to achieve some -kind of :sign coordination in the downtown area. Mr.. Thomp-son.stated_it was his understanding the sign ordinance is being reviewed; and prior to the adoption of .the ordinance, the -Project Area Commit- tee would like to reach some kind of agreement with the Commission to meet their goals. Executive Director Robert Meyer stated the Commissioners, in their capacity as Council members, had indicated :they were not :looking to make major changes in the.sign ordinance. The :main concern was how to treat the signs which are presently in use that do not meet the requirements of the sign: ordinance. He suggested the PAC work with the Planning Department in suggesting the treatment .of signs in the Redevelopment Area. Since the Commission had discussed adoption of themes for the area, some .of the smaller lots under the present ordinance.co:uld have quite large signs.. It is hiss understanding. the Project Area Committee wishes .to be more restrictive in the downtown area than permitted under the present ordinance. Commissioner Mattei felt this was the right approach- that all phases of modification to the sign ordinance be reviewed before incorporation into the final ordinance. Chairman Putnam stated since .the -PAC letter had asked to have a member of the Commission work with the Sign Committee, she wondered if it would not be just as well to have a member of the staff work with the Committee. Mr.:.Thompson indicated this would meet with their approval. However, two or three weeks prior to the introduction of the sign ordinance, they would like to have a member of the Commission discuss .it with them. The discussion then led to the ad hoc committee of the Chamber of Commerce which was presently working on modifications to the sign ordinance. Executive Director Robert Meyer stated it was his understanding the Chamber committee is writing a completely new sign ordinance and not merely making modifications to the present ordinance. He questioned the Commissioners whether _this was the intent or whether they had wanted suggestions from the Chamber committee in modifying the present ordinance. Chairman Putnam then suggested a meeting should be held which would include the PAC Sign Committee as well as the Chamber committee with two members of the Commission., Commissioner Hizlligoss and Commissioner Mattei., attending the meeting to hear what the proposals are. Mr: Thompson then questioned whether the Commission wanted the PAC to go through the entire draft of the sign ordinance being proposed by the Chamber of Commerce's committee. Executive Director Robert Meyer,stated if the Chamber of Commerce is drafting a completely new ordinance, the staff -will need time to review the ordinance, and it would be quite a task.- Mr. Meyer stated"it was his understanding the Council and the Commissioners were not -as interested in Having an entirely.new ordinance drafted but were.interested in how to handle signs which were not in conformance. LETTER FROM PROJECT AREA COMMITTEE SIGN COMMITTEE CHAIRMAN (CONY D ) Chairman.Putnam stated she felt it was. necessary for the two groups to get together with Commissioner.Hilligoss and Commissioner Mattei to explore.precisely what is being done on the new sign ordinance and to determine whether the present ordinance should be modified or if themes should be -considered, and felt there should be a complete understanding of the problem. PROGRAM OF SERVICE/ Finance Director John Scharer reviewed the memorandum dated. BUDGET 1977 December�10, 1976, addressed to Robert -:R_ Meyer which out- lined the balance sheet, the current.expense statement, and the proposed budget of the Petaluma Community Development Commission as of November 30, 1976. Mr. Scharer indicated prior budgets had been prepared on six -month -increments. The proposal before.the Commission is for a budget for the.calendar year 1977, January through December, rather than on a fiscal year basis. The total budget for the year is estimated to be $20,012. The balance from the original loan from the City is $8,900. The Community Block Grant is $5,000, and the additional loan needed from the City is $6,112. Executive Director Robert Meyer stated the Commission can approve the budget, but the City Council has to approve the loan. At the conclusion of the discussion, Commissioner Mattei moved to adopt the budget and to request a,loan.of $6,200 from the City. The motion was seconded by Commissioner Hilligoss and unanimously adopted. (Commissioners Cavanagh and Harberson were absent when the vote was taken.) The document reviewed by Finance Director Scharer is on file with the Recording Secretary. PRIORITIES FOR IMPLEMENTATION OF REDEVELOPMENT PLAN Project Manager Janie Warman reviewed the tabulation of the questionnaire completed by both the Commissioners and the Project Area Committee. In comparing the overall ratings, the highest percentage total was given to the encouragement for private development. Some discussion was held regarding the need for an alternate route for truck traffic. It was determined this was not a proper project for the Community Development_ Commission as it is already budgeted, but Ms. Warman pointed out the Project Area Committee felt it was an important matter which should be addressed. The need for additional parking.in .the downtown area was the.subject which received the greatest amount of discussion by the ,Commission. Project Manager Janie Warman indicated there are three major pedestrian pathways in the downtown area, and the traffic engineers had indicated a need for 350 additional parking spaces. The three suggestions were for expansion of the "A" Street Parking Lot, expanding the Keller Street -Parking hot, and provide additional parking along.Petaluma Blvd. Commissioner Mattei stated he did.not feel a comparison could be made between the '.'A" Street Parking Lot which is not metered and.the Keller Street Lot -for which there is a charge: Commissioner Perry indicated the "A" Street Lot is currently being heavily used, primarily because of the Mill being in the vicinity. It was also pointed out by Mr. Scharer there are 45 parking spaces in the "A" Street Lot, 15 of which are permit parking spaces; and of the 15 permits sold monthly, one-half of them are purchased by one firm for their employees to park. Commissioner Mattei indicated he felt it was important to determine where parking should be provided to encourage development. He suggested that providing addi- tional parking on Petaluma Blvd. may be the encouragement needed to rehabilitate the building formerly used by Penney's. Chairman Putnam indicated she felt all three areas needed to be discussed as the former public library would be heavily utilized and place additional burden on the "A" Street Parking Lot. She also felt the Keller Street Lot_ needed some type of expansion; and if commerce was to be encouraged along Petaluma Blvd., then additional parking should be provided. in this area. Project Manager Janie Warman stated of the major merchandising firms which have been contacted, all have indicated they would need ample.parking in order to occupy some of the.larger buildings such as the Penney building or the McNear Building.. This would be necessary,to attract customers to their stores. The' merchants in.the downtown area have also indicated major stores are needed rather than many more small, specialized shops. Ms. Warman stated perhaps the Commission would want to take a pro -active -instead of a re -active measure regarding parking, -2- PRIORITIES FOR i.e. to provide parking as the.public improvements project IMPLEMENTATION OF for the Redevelopment Area to encourage private development. REDEVELOPMENT PLAN Financing for additional parking was discussed. Mr. Meyer indicated -the tax~increment financing would not pay for 350 parking spaces. Mr. Scharer also stated, generally, public parking takes property off the tax rolls. From a financing standpoint, the Commission would have to look at a loan from some source.of the City,whether it be from the General Fund,Revenue Sharing or Parking Meter revenue: Funds would have to be advanced; and. -in his opinion, this would be the pro=active rather than the re- active action. The Commission could make an investment in the parking area then hope that the increment from the surrounding area would generate enough business to pay back the funds. Mr. Meyer stated from thediscussion held by the Commission it appears the main priority in the project is parking and how it is to be provided. There are several ways .to accomplish this, and one would be the assessment district procedure; another would be private party involvement; tax increments were also suggested; or, a combination of the downtown improvement fund and the revenue from the parking meters if they are left in.' It was suggested the matter of parking be thoroughly discussed at the January 10, 1977, meeting of the Commission. Staff wasdirected to prepare figures on the development for the "A" Street Parking Lot including the abandonment of the street, as well as the figures for the Keller Street Lot and the possibility of purchasing property and providing parking on Petaluma Blvd. PROPOSED LETTER Executive Director Robert Meyer referred to a proposed INVITING OWNER letter to be sent to property owners in the Project Area PARTICIPATION and asked for the Commission's approval of the letter before it was mailed. Ms.. Warman advised the mailing of this letter had been recommended by the Special Counsel for the Petaluma Community Development Commission, Mr. Joseph Coomes. The Commissioners voiced no objection to the letter. NEW MEMBERS - Ms. Warman indicated there are five vacancies on the Project PROJECT AREA Area Committee. The following people had expressed a COMMITTEE willingness to serve: Robert Mattei, Robert Koenitzer, Robert McDonald, and Jean Winterhalder. In addition, she had stated Skip Sommer of the Great Petaluma Mill indicated he would no longer be able to serve on the Committee, but there would be one representative from the Mill to serve in his place. PAC MINUTES Ms. Warman advised the Project Area Committee is meeting NOVEMBER 18, 1976 the first and third Thursdays of the month at North Bay Savings and Loan at 4:00 p.m. Ms. Warman pointed out the minutes were sent to the Commissioners to bring to their attention the emphasis placed on priority for parking in the Project Area. Ms. Warman advised copies of all meetings of the Project Area Committee would be sent to the Commissioners in the future. PROJECTS FOR Executive Director Robert Meyer advised in previous meetings IMPLEMENTATION the matter of themes to be established either block by block or for districts had been discussed by the Commission. If this was the intent, Mr. Meyer indicated the Project Area Committee should be given some suggestions regarding themes for various areas to see what they could bring back to the Commission for their review. Deputy Director Frank Gray indicated there are probably common threads that run throughout the area, and themes could be used in various sections, such as a gaslight district for the McNear block.. Commi.ssioner.Hilligoss stated she would like to get away from .the word "theme" as she felt it may be objectionable to prospective property owners if they felt they were being tied into a certain theme, such as a western town. She preferred to use the expression, "blending the old and the new." Mr. Meyer indicated some direction needs to be given shortly as there are several buildings being considered for renovation or construction in the downtown area, and the developers should have some idea of what to expect at the sige design review. Ms. Warman suggested "design criteria" be used instead of the word "theme". -3- PROJECTS FOR Ms. Warman also stated at the latest meeting.of the Project IMPLEMENTATION Area Committee, there was some.discussion regarding employees' parking. If the Commission was agreeable, the staff could look at areas adjacent to the Project Area for possible employee parking. ADJOURNMENT There being no further business to come before the Commission, the meeting was adjourned at 10:37 a.m. Attest: R ording ecretary -4- Chairman