The URL can be used to link to this page

Home My WebLink AboutStaff Report 1.A 02/02/20091 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 flu February 2, 2009 W��L U� a0� City of Petaluma, California MEETING OF THE CITY COUNCIL/ r86a PETALUMA COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT COMMISSION Draft City Council/PCDC Minutes Monday, January 12, 2009 Regular Meeting MONDAY. JANUARY 12. 2009 EVENING SESSION - 7:00 P.M. CALL TO ORDER - EVENING SESSION - 7:00 P.M. A. Roll Call Present: Teresa Barrett; David Glass; Mike Harris; Mike Healy; David Rabbitt; Tiffany Ren6e; Pamela Torliatt Absent: None B. Pledge of Allegiance Karen Bell Newman C. Moment of Silence PUBLIC COMMENT Mike Orten, Petaluma, asked Council to ask that the asphalt plant to be totally enclosed. He said the project has seven major mitigation issues, five of which cannot be mitigated. He would like to see the full potential impact of the project made available to the public. Zen Destiny, Petaluma, spoke about the federal bail-out and the "skewed capitalist model." Katherine Bobrowski, Petaluma, said she will be bringing about 95 more pictures of cars parked in the fire lanes in her mobile park. She also spoke about gang members terrorizing people in the park. COUNCIL COMMENT Council Member Harris Council Member Ren6e Council Member Rabbitt Vice Mayor Barrett Vol. XX, Page 2 January 12, 2009 1 Council Member Glass 2 3 Council Member Healy 4 5 Mayor Torliatt 6 7 Council Member Rabbitt 8 9 Mayor Torliatt 10 1 1 City Manager Brown 12 13 Mayor Torliatt 14 15 City Manager Brown 16 17 Mayor Torliatt 18 19 Council Member Healy 20 21 City Manager Brown 22 23 Council Member Healy 24 25 Council Member Glass 26 27 Mayor Torliatt 28 29 CITY MANAGER COMMENT 30 31 None. 32 33 AGENDA CHANGES AND DELETIONS - Changes to current agenda only 34 35 None. 36 37 1. NEW BUSINESS 38 39 A. Economic Development Strategy RFP Workshop. (Brown/Moore) 40 41 Mayor Torliatt 42 43 City Manager Brown 44 45 Mayor Torliatt 46 47 Council Member Rabbitt 48 49 Mayor Torliatt 50 51 Council Member Rabbitt 52 January 12, 2009 City Manager Brown Council Member Rabbitt Mayor Torliatt Council Member Rabbitt Council Member Harris Council Member Renee City Manager Brown Council Member Renee Vice Mayor Barrett City Manager Brown Vice Mayor Barrett Council Member Healy City Manager Brown Council Member Glass Mayor Torliatt Council Member Glass Mayor Torliatt Council Member Rabbitt Vice Mayor Barrett Council Member Rabbitt Council Member Healy City Manager Brown Director Moore Council Member Healy Director Moore Council Member Healy Vol. XX, Page 3 Vol. XX, Page 4 January 12, 2009 I Director Moore 2 3 Vice Mayor Barrett 5 Director Moore 6 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 Council Member Ren6e Council Member Rabbitt Mayor Torliatt Council Member Rabbitt Mayor Torliatt Public Comment on 1.A Jeff Mayne, Petaluma Downtown Association (PDA), Petaluma, spoke about the renaissance in the downtown area and pressure on landlords. He said the Petaluma Downtown Association would like to be represented on the committee to review the proposals. The PDA can work with the City to create incentives and ideas that can be passed on to merchants and property owners. Melissa Abercrombie, Petaluma Neighborhood Association, Petaluma, thought what was presented was very thorough and thanked staff for that. She feels it is important to create cohesion between different areas to encourage visitors to one to visit the other, especially pedestrians. Regarding ways to encourage more families to move here, she said that the recent expansion of Petaluma campus of Santa Rosa Junior College should be emphasized. She also shared some comments from David Keller, who was unable to attend the meeting. He wanted Council to, "Pay attention to what was accomplished to with the Central Petaluma Specific Plan," "Follow Smart Code Zoning," and "Emphasize educational opportunities." Marty Bennett, Petaluma, Co -Chair, Sonoma County Living Wage Coalition, teacher at Santa Rosa Junior College, thanked staff "for this excellent document," and encouraged Council to "fast forward it." He spoke of the role of the Smart train on economic development in the City. He cautioned that, "The recession we are entering should not lead to additional contracting out of City jobs." Wayne Morgenthaler, Petaluma Independent Business Association (PIBA), Petaluma, thanked staff for their excellent work on this project. He told Council, "PIBA favors a plan that encourages and sustains a durable local economy built principally on independent locally -owned businesses. Programs must be developed that address civic investment in our own, home-grown, business entrepreneurs. It's also important not to forget businesses that are already here." Zen Destiny, Petaluma, spoke about what he called "arbitrary opposition and self - replicating processes designed to stall development." 1 2 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 January 12, 2009 Vol. XX, Page 5 Don Bennett, Petaluma, expressed enthusiasm for the project and commended Council for "really talking about creating a healthy community." Dick Herman, Petaluma, President, SantaRosaMFG.com, told Council that SantaRosaMFG.com is an independent organization of executives of local small and mid-size manufacturing companies, and is sponsored by the Santa Rosa Chamber of Commerce. He said that although people think of U.S. corporations as outsourcing their manufacturing needs, there has been a "resurgence of interest in sourcing from local firms who have specialized capabilities, can delivery quickly, and who are close to their customers to promote innovation." Council Member Glass hrd11111:[ Ii7d. , Onita Pellegrini, Petaluma Area Chamber of Commerce, Petaluma, said the Chamber is very excited about this project and thanked City Manager Brown and Director Moore for the hard work they have put into this. She told them, "Data is critical forsuccess of plan. You need to know what is here and what we need before you can actually start attracting those things." She added that there are many Chamber members who would be assets on the selection committee. Marie McCusker, Petaluma Downtown Association (PDA), Petaluma, thinks this will be a wonderful plan, but emphasized that help is needed now for businesses in the downtown that are struggling. She said, "Many of them won't be here in 6 months to a year if we don't step in and assist them." Connie Madden, Petaluma Independent Business Association (PIRA), Petaluma, thanked Marie McCusker for her remarks and said that possible negotiation on rents may help to prevent blight in the downtown. She said she this document is "visionary" and that is what is really needed at this time - "vision at the front end of the process." She thanked City Manager Brown and Director Moore for putting this document together, and said this is "a chance of getting a broad, fresh view." She urged them to include volunteer opportunities in the mix. Diane Reilly Torres, Petaluma, said citizens of the East Side feel like second-class citizens, especially with so much talk about focusing on the downtown. She says East Side people are tired of only having "70's era strip malls." Mayor Torliatt City Manager Brown Mayor Torliatt City Manager Brown Mayor Torliatt Council Member Healy Mayor Torliatt 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 Vol. XX, Page 6 Council Member Rabbitt ADJOURN The meeting was adjourned at 9:33 p.m. ATTEST: Claire Cooper, CMC, City Clerk January 12, 2009 Pamela Torliatt, Mayor