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HomeMy WebLinkAboutStaff Report 5.F 10/07/2019OM Im Agenda Item #5.F October 7, 2019 Honorable Mayor and Members of the City Council through City Manager FROM: Peggy Flynn, City Manager Heather Hines, Planning Manager Gina Benedetti Petnic, City Engineer SUBJECT: Discussion and Feedback Related to Potential Purchase of Property for Implementation of the Station Access Road as Illustrated in the Station Area Master Plan and SmartCode. RECOMMENDATION It is recommended that the City Council discuss and provide feedback related to potential purchase of property for implementation of the Station Access Road as illustrated in the Station Area Master Plan and SmartCode. Based on feedback, staff could bring a future transaction to Council for consideration. BACKGROUND In 2013 the City Council adopted the Station Area Master Plan and the associated SmartCode amendments illustrating a clear vision of Central Petaluma and focused on the two planned SMART rail stations. The primary objective of the Station Area Master Planning process was to provide a framework to guide future development and redevelopment within the Station Areas toward uses that will support transit ridership, to improve access between the station and the surrounding area, and to create an integrated development plan that capitalized on the SMART rail system. Section 2.2 of the Station Area Master Plan identifies three catalyst sites that present the best opportunity for transforming the Station Area, meeting the goals of the General Plan and Central Petaluma Specific Plan and achieving the community's vision. The parcel immediately adjacent to the downtown station property ("SMART Parcel") is one of the catalyst sites in addition to the "Haystack Parcels" and the "Golden Eagle Shopping Center". While the Master Plan provides the overarching policy framework, the associated SmartCode provides the regulatory structure to implement that vision. The document provides a thoroughfare regulating plan specific to the street network directly adjacent to the downtown station (SmartCode Section 5.10.080) which introduces the New Station Access Commercial Street. As illustrated in Figure 1 below, The New Station Access Commercial Street would run between East Washington Street and East D Street and would provide the most direct access to the downtown station (Attachment 1). Additionally, the New Station Access Commercial Street is the terminus of the Transverse Street which runs perpendicular between Weller Street and the station and is proposed with a linear park within the block between Copeland Street and the station. Figure 1: Thoroughfare Regcdatoiy Plan The specific streetscape section of the New Station Access Commercial Street is laid out in SmartCode Table 5.10.070.1) and in Figure 2 below (Also Attachment 2). The street was envisioned with a total right of way width of 78 feet, inclusive of wide sidewalks (17 feet) on either side to create an inviting pedestrian realm, 11 -foot -wide "parking/transit stop lanes" to provide for transit and drop off opportunities at the station, and two 11 -foot travel lanes. Section 4.40.150 of the SmartCode (Figure 3) lays out frontage -type requirements along the streets within the area most proximate to the downtown station (Attachment 3). The frontage - types required for the SMART Parcel generally provide for ground floor commercial uses along the East Washington, East D Street and New Station Access Commercial Street frontages. This is consistent with the underlying Mixed -Use land use designation and implements the General Plan intent to provide a robust mix of uses, including retail, office, and residential uses. A similar frontage -type is provided for the Haystack Parcels and was incorporated into the project as recently approved by the Planning Commission, with ground floor commercial spaces with the appropriate frontage -types at key frontages. I Figure 2: New Station Access Commercial Street Section 0 c`3 ®eF Cad">`rlfe sf��f or 14 REQUIRED FRONTAGES - $hopfront,Terace, or Gallery Required I,,,- Gallery Required y .. Shopfri Terrace Gallery or Dooryard wt Shopfront Required Sloop or Dooryad Required Figure 3: Frontage Tipe Requirements taper. Frontage -Any Frontage Type allowed per the applicable Transect Zone (sea foil list in Section 4 40-030) • • Location where a temporary parking lot may occupy a ffortage line. Temporary parking lots shall nave a 5' landscaped strip and a low wall l24.-35" highp along the ROW RECOMMENDED FRONTAGES — Shopfront, Arcade or Galgry Recommended The City currently leases the SMART land underlying the Train Depot and Art Center buildings ("Leased Parcel") from SMART. The Leased Parcel includes the Train Depot and Art Center buildings and property and the existing 50+ perpendicular parking spaces on the one-way access road. The lease cost is $12,000 annually. The current lease extends through 2023 and the City has one additional 5 -year option to extend the lease through 2028. Any further extension would be subject to SMART approval. Under the current lease agreement SMART may terminate the lease in whole or in part or place restrictions on the City's use of the Leased Parcel for transportation related purposes, subject to SMART's providing the City 1 -year prior notice. If SMART exercises its right to partly tenninate the lease for transportation related purposes, the lease is to remain in effect subject to a lease payment reduction for the part of the Leased Parcel no longer useable by the City. SMART's right to terminate the lease in its entirety for transportation related purposes requires the 365 day notice requirement and is subject to SMART reimbursing the City for the unamortized value of the City's actual costs of completing the improvements on the Leased Parcel, as of the date of termination, amortized on a straight line basis over a twenty five year period from August 1, 2003, the lease effective date. The City invested $4.1 million to rehabilitate the buildings on the Leased Parcel. DISCUSSION Hines, an international development group, in partnership with Lomas, the developer of the proposed residential project at the site of the City's proposed second SMART station at Corona, 11 has initiated discussion with city staff regarding development of the SMART Parcel adjacent to the current Downtown SMART station. As part of that initial consultation, both the policy and regulatory framework for the surrounding area and more specifically the implementation of the New Station Access Commercial Street and bisecting Transverse Street has been discussed. SMART has indicated that the proceeds from the sale of the SMART parcel would be applied to the construction of the City's identified second SMART station at Corona, which is located on a privately -owned and controlled parcel. Currently SMART is securing a contractor for the Windsor SMART station construction, and the construction of the City's second SMART station would need to be added to the Windsor contract in order to be constructed in this cycle, i.e., by the end of 2021. The next opportunity for construction of Petaluma's second station would not occur until another SMART station—e.g., Cloverdale, Healdsburg—is designed and funded, at which time the cost is expected to be significantly more given the upward trend of construction costs for these stations. While development of the SMART Parcel is assumed to include dedication of right-of-way for these roadways, the implementation of the New Station Access Commercial Street also requires property from the Leased Parcel. Attachment 4 provides a modified layout for the New Station Access Street which seeks to implement the intent as presented in the SmartCode with modifications to address current parking deficiencies identified since the commencement of SMART service. The revised layout provides approximately 60 perpendicular parking spaces along the existing curb line of the Station. These 60 parking spaces would continue to be owned by SMART and would be signed for SMART patrons only. These spaces would replace the approximately 50 SMART -controlled parking spaces currently located in a gravel parking area off East Washington Street and which would be eliminated with the sale and private development of the SMART Parcel. The modified layout provides for approximately 22 parallel parking spaces on the west side of the New Station Access Street which would support commercial uses called for along that frontage and also serve the Visitors and Arts Center. The City and SMART are still working out the use of the additional ten spaces that this layout could provide, including allowing tenant and visitor parking in these spaces. The modified layout maintains the proposed 17 -foot -wide sidewalk and continues to allow for connection with the Transverse Street that would bisect the SMART Parcel and line up with the approved development at the Haystack Parcels. Additionally, a transit/drop off zone is provided on the station side of the street to facilitate access to the station. This configuration would require an approximately 26 -foot -wide frontage dedication for the New Station Access Commercial Street from the private development as well as purchase of an equivalent area (26 feet by approximately 635 feet or approximately 16,500 sq ft) from SMART on the Leased Parcel. Without the purchase of part of the Leased Property from SMART, implementation of the New Station Access Commercial Street is not viable. Required dedication of the full 78 -foot right-of- way from private development of the SMART Parcel makes development of that property infeasible. In this scenario (without purchase of part of the Leased Property from SMART), a revised approach to the street network and proposed land uses and frontage types would be necessary. 5 Access to the station could remain as currently configured with the one-way drive and perpendicular parking remaining under SMART ownership with a public access easement. Under this alternative, development of the SMART Parcel would not require dedication of frontage for development of the street but would still implement a modified Transverse Street bisecting the property and providing modified access to the station parcel. Without a public street frontage between the SMART Parcel and the station parcel, the viability of commercial uses along this frontage would be minimal and therefore conceptually would necessitate modification to frontage types and associated land use vision to focus ground floor commercial on the East Washington and East D Street frontages. Attachment 5 was prepared by Hines and shows a conceptual sketch of how this alternative may layout in terms of changes to both surrounding street network and land use configuration. This concept has not been evaluated by staff for full compliance with other regulatory requirements and should be used for general discussion only. Another likely impact of this alterative would be a modified street section for the Transverse Street in the block between Copeland Street and the station to minimize through vehicular access to the station parcel. It is likely that access would be limited to bicycle and pedestrian access with the possibility of limited transit access with this configuration, which would reduce the width of the Transverse Street within this block. Since adoption of the Station Area Master Plan and amended SmartCode there have been discernable changes in the development environment, including increased importance for the provision of housing and an increasingly challenging retail environment. Additionally, the operation and popularity of Petaluma's downtown SMART station has put increasing pressure on parking and resulted in impacts to the surrounding neighborhood. City staff are exploring a potential park and ride solution at the City -owned Fairgrounds, with Marin Transit offering shuttle service from the lot to the SMART station during peak commute hours and providing shuttle service to and from the SMART station to Downtown in the remaining hours. A parking permit program for the adjacent neighborhoods to alleviate the current and potential impacts is also being considered. Both scenarios may require the City to secure additional public parking at the time of transfer of the SMART Parcel to the developer, which is anticipated in Spring 2020, and would facilitate the construction of the City's second SMART station. The Council may wish to consider whether implementation of the New Station Access Commercial Street is necessary to realize the overall vision of the Station Area Master Plan, whether the cost associated with purchasing the necessary property on the Leased Parcel to implement the New Station Access Commercial Street is a priority at this time to ensure that the construction of the street and associated dedication from private development occurs as the SMART Parcel is developed. PUBLIC OUTREACH This agenda item appeared on a tentative agenda in the previously -published agenda packet, which was publicly noticed through City communications channels in accordance with public noticing requirements. CITY GOALS & PRIORITIES 3 This agenda item responds to the following Citywide Goals as adopted by the City Council: • Goal #22: Complete the second SMART station at Corona • Goal #103: Prioritize and incentivize sustainable infill development • Goal # 114: Identify potential parking and transportation alternatives for Downtown • Goal #140: Expand the use of Transit -Oriented Development (TOD) principles in new development. FINANCIAL IMPACTS SMART's asking price for the necessary property for the New Station Access Commercial Street is approximately $905,000. There is no cost associated with right of way dedication or construction which would be a condition of private development of the SMART Parcel. All costs associated with processing entitlements for the private development would be collected through a cost recovery agreement to cover staff time. The cost of purchasing the property necessary for construction of the access street could be funded by a combination of Traffic Impact Fee and Street Maintenance funds. It's anticipated that approximately $560,000 of the cost would be covered by Traffic Impact fees and the remaining $345,000 coming from Street Maintenance Fund Balance. The FY 2019 Street Maintenance ending fund balance is estimated to be greater than what was last forecasted. This is due to one-time salary and benefit savings generated by vacancies occurring during the fiscal year as well as increased garbage franchise fee revenues received in excess of budgeted amounts resulting in an unexpected surplus sufficient to cover this cost. ATTACHMENTS 1. SmartCode Thoroughfare Regulating Plan (SmartCode 5.10.080) 2. New Station Access Commercial Street Section (SmartCode Table 5.10.070.D) 3. Frontage Type Requirements (SmartCode 4.40.150) 4. Option A: Station Access Street 5. Option B: Eliminate Station Access Street ........... Attachment 1 Section 50 Thoroughfare Standards 0.1080 m Thoroughfare Re gulat'in::g Plan, Downtown Staflon Area Detail A.- EastWashington StreeL (CS -98: -29 -TR) New Transverse Commercial Street w/ Linear Park (CS*.o 1104,w22mTR) luetAdj4pacent to Squarl Weller Street/New Riverfront Commercial 1k; (CS/DR-60-36) StreetAdj'acent to Basin New Transverse Street A % (5 60-36) Note., zonouici any conTIIUS,ar�i se between thIs 0 Regulating Plan and �>ection 5. 1: J 00 (Thorough fare Regulating Plan Central PetaluMa Spedific Plan Area) this Re,zulat*i' P'lan Shall, Drevail, Note: All,frontag----es alono-r the streets shown on this regulating plan shall be principal frontages.11 Petaluma Station Area Master Plan 137 Attachment 2 Section 5. Thoroughfare Standards Table 5 10 O�Q,D New Station Access Commercial Street GS�78 44 TR Application Transect Zones T4, T5 Movement Type Slow Design Speed 25 mph Overall Widths Right -of -Way (ROW) Width 78' Q Pavement Width 44' Q Public Frontage Width 17' Q Lane Assembly Traffic Lanes 2 @ I I' Q Bicycle Lanes None Parking/Transit Stop Lanes 2 @ 11', marked' Q Medians None ' Parking/Transit Stop Lanes shall use decorative pavers or other treatment to define space and be separated from Traffic lanes by a low rolled curb. Public Frontage Assembly Frontage Type Drainage Collection Type Planter Type Landscape Type Lighting Type Walkway Type Curb Type Commercial Street Curb and Gutter 4'x4' Tree Well Trees at 30' o.c. avg. Post, Column, or Double Column 17' sidewalk Square Petaluma Station Area Master Plan 129 I I Ev aim 91 Iqs � kNhLo Required Frontages FM Shopfront,Terrace, or Gallery Required Em ShonfronL Terrace, Gallery or uooryard w/ v u p e n F ro n targe we 'Any F ro n ta,ge Typ e a I I owe. per the applicableTransect Zone. i (see full listin Section 14,40,,0301' lots shall have a 5 low wall k"24"-36' temporary parking lot may ne. :Temv-,-orary v , parking g M a onA Recommendei Frontages a strip and a the ROW,, Shopfron't, Arcade, or Gallery Recommended Petaluma Station Area Master Plan 41 5 AIL TAII PA E cl Aittachment 4 m wI TS' m D E." N 3 S2 ADNE @ Ip ii LLY, I S3m R A4- ... �,, �+� � � i Al, Al FIR Tn 'NESS 0 1 Iwo WON I I I "Im I mll IM. "09), F (2 C (n v t PIC AR A2 COPELAND STREET -77- N —11mor"l� wa q �pp ljj�� m 'ArIF'10, Newport Beach,, CA9260'00 40100 MacArthur Boulevard, Suite (949) 313-2232 �J ARCHI TEC TS' pi 0 R A N G E npm d: D E." N 3 S2 ADNE @ Ip ii LLY, I S3m R A4- ... �,, �+� � � i Al, Al FIR Tn 'NESS 0 1 Iwo WON I I I "Im I mll IM. "09), F (2 C (n v t PIC AR A2 COPELAND STREET -77- N —11mor"l� wa q �pp ljj�� m 'ArIF'10, Newport Beach,, CA9260'00 40100 MacArthur Boulevard, Suite (949) 313-2232 �J ARCHI TEC TS' 0 R A N G E