Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAboutRA Minutes 1996-04-01SRRA MINUTES (Regular) 4/1/96 Page 1 IN THE COUNCIL CHAMBER OF THE CITY OF SAN RAFAEL, MONDAY, APRIL 1, 1996 AT 7:30 PM Regular Meeting: San Rafael Redevelopment Agency Barbara Heller, Member Gary O. Phillips, Member David J. Zappetini, Member Absent: None Present: Albert J. Boro, Chairman Paul M. Cohen, Member Also Present: Jake Ours, Acting Executive Director Eric Davis, Deputy Agency Attorney Jeanne M. Leoncini, Agency Secretary OPEN SESSION - 7:00 PM - COUNCIL CHAMBER Chairman Boro announced Closed Session item. CLOSED SESSION - 7:00 PM - CONFERENCE ROOM 201 *Conference with Legal Counsel - Anticipated Litigation Government Code Section 54956.9(c): a. Initiation of Litigation - one case. Deputy Agency Attorney Eric Davis announced no reportable action was taken. ORAL COMMUNICATIONS OF AN URGENCY NATURE None CONSENT CALENDAR 7:30 PM Member Phillips moved and member Cohen seconded, to approve the recommended action on the following Consent Calendar items: ITEM RECOMMENDED ACTION 1. Approval of Minutes of Regular and Special Approved as submitted. Joint Meetings of Monday, March 18, 1996 (AS) 2. Approval of Parking Lot Closure for Approved staff recommendation. Western Sport Shop's Fly Fishing Event on Saturday, April 13, 1996 (RA) - File R-140 #8 X (SRCC) 11-19 AYES: MEMBERS: Cohen, Heller, Phillips, Zappetini & Chairman Boro NOES: MEMBERS: None ABSENT: MEMBERS: None The following items were removed from the Agenda for further discussion: 3. RESOLUTION APPROVING ACQUISITION AGREEMENT WITH SOUTHERN PACIFIC SRRA MINUTES (Regular) 4/1/96 Page 1 SRRA MINUTES (Regular) 4/1/96 Page 2 TRANSPORTATION COMPANY FOR ANDERSEN DRIVE EXTENSION (RA) - File R-364 X R-359 X R-246 Member Zappetini stated he was abstaining from this item, due to conflict of interest. Member Phillips noted Exhibits 1, 2, C, D, and E of the staff report are blank pages, and asked if there was additional information they should be given? Acting Executive Director Ours stated those exhibits referred to maps and legal descriptions, which were still being prepared at the time the report was completed. Member Phillips asked if the Agency could take action without these exhibits, and Mr. Ours responded they could. Member Phillips moved and Member Cohen seconded, to adopt the Resolution approving an Acquisition Agreement with Southern Pacific Transportation Company for Andersen Drive Extension. RESOLUTION NO. 96-26 - RESOLUTION APPROVING ACQUISITION AGREEMENT WITH SOUTHERN PACIFIC TRANSPORTATION COMPANY AND AUTHORIZING THE ACTING EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR TO EXECUTE SAID AGREEMENT. AYES: MEMBERS: Cohen, Heller, Phillips & Chairman Boro NOES: MEMBERS: None ABSENT: MEMBERS: None DISQUALIFIED: MEMBERS: Zappetini (due to conflict of interest) 4. MEMBERSHIP OF COORDINATING COMMITTEE FOR ECONOMIC VISION (RA)- File R-363 x (SRCC) 140 Chairman Boro stated he removed this item from the Agenda because he had neglected to inform staff, based on certain conversations he has had, to ask the Planning Commission to appoint a member to this Committee, so the Planning Commission is in the loop, and when this plan comes before the Commission it will have the background and support that it needs. Chairman Boro congratulated staff on the eighteen recommendations they had made. Member Heller asked which neighborhood Bruce Hopper represented, and Mr. Ours responded Mr. Hopper lived in the Gerstle Park neighborhood. Mr. Ours reported Grant Davis had declined membership on the Coordinating Committee, so there is one opening for a member to be appointed. He also noted they have drafted David Chavez, with the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, as a member. Chairman Boro asked Mr. Ours to inform the Agency when the Environmental representative has been selected. Member Heller moved and Member Phillips seconded, to accept the report on the membership of Coordinating Committee for Economic Vision, as amended, to include appointment of member of the Planning Commission. AYES: MEMBERS: Cohen, Heller, Phillips, Zappetini & Chairman Boro NOES: MEMBERS: None ABSENT: MEMBERS: None SRRA MINUTES (Regular) 4/1/96 Page 2 SRRA MINUTES (Regular) 4/1/96 Page 3 5. RESOLUTION ACCEPTING THE FINDINGS OF THE PUBLIC WORKS STUDY ENTITLED "SAN RAFAEL STORM WATER PUMP STATION PROJECT 1995-1996 -- MODERNIZATION AND RENOVATION" AND RECOMMENDING TO CITY COUNCIL THE ADOPTION OF THE IMPLEMENTATION SCHEDULE (PW) - File R-365 x R-54 x (SRCC) 4-4-6b Chairman Boro noted the staff report states the funding mechanism we have will generate $335,000 per year from the Marin County Storm Water Pollution Prevention Program, and over the next ten years the Agency will recoup the money needed for specific recommendations. He asked if there will be a subsequent report explaining how the rest of the money is to be spent? Public Works Director Bernardi stated a report will be presented to the City Council at budget time regarding the MCSTOPP Program, as it will fall in line with the budget process, and they felt that would be an appropriate time to bring this to the Council. Mr. Bernardi reported the issue of the Storm Water Pump Station will be discussed in detail before the Council at their next meeting. He noted this report is being brought before the Agency because they are the ones who commissioned the project, but ultimately the City Council will implement the program. Member Heller noted the report, in detailing the funding, mentioned two assessment districts, and the use of General Fund money, in addition to the $335,000. She asked if we will need to use these other funding sources to fund the entire ten years of the project, or if the MCSTOPPP funding will be enough to pay for the entire project. Mr. Bernardi reported the MCSTOPPP funding will pay for the project, noting staff was listing all of the funding sources available. He stated, given all of the priorities that must be dealt with for the General Fund, staff does not believe any General Fund monies will be allocated for this project, but the Storm Water Program, as well as assessment district monies that were declared surplus by the Council, could be used to fix the pump stations within the boundaries of the assessment district. Member Heller stated she felt this was an excellent report, noting she particularly liked the use of the photographs to point out the deficiencies. Member Heller moved and Member Cohen seconded, to adopt the Resolution accepting the Findings of the Public Works study entitled "San Rafael Storm Water Pump Station Project 1995-1996 -- Modernization and Renovation". RESOLUTION NO. 96-27 - RESOLUTION ACCEPTING THE FINDINGS OF THE PUBLIC WORKS STUDY ENTITLED "SAN RAFAEL STORM WATER PUMP STATION PROJECT 1995-1996 -- MODERNIZATION AND RENOVATION" AYES: MEMBERS: Cohen, Heller, Phillips, Zappetini & Chairman Boro NOES: MEMBERS: None ABSENT: MEMBERS: None AGENCY CONSIDERATION: 6. RESOLUTION APPROVING CONTRACT WITH GEORGE GIRVIN FOR FOURTH STREET SIDEWALK IMPROVEMENTS (RA) - File R-258 x (SRCC) 11-7 Acting Executive Director Ours reported the Downtown Vision Committee had visited a number of cities and looked at their sidewalk improvements to determine what did and did not work, and have developed some design parameters for the City' s SRRA MINUTES (Regular) 4/1/96 Page 3 SRRA MINUTES (Regular) 4/1/96 Page 4 own Sidewalk Improvement Project. He stated the Committee had determined the design should conform to the following criteria: it must be simple and easy to maintain and keep clean; keep the existing corner treatments, clean them up and build from them; spread the improvements over a large area, and do not raise expectations that cannot be met; wherever possible, the sidewalk width should be expanded so that two people can walk comfortably side by side; the width can be flexible, from block to block, or within a block with smooth transitions; merchants should be able to use the sidewalks for outdoor seating; parking could be adjusted for wider sidewalks, but removal of spaces or changing the angle must be discussed extensively, starting with the merchants and the property owners; trash cans need to be bigger and located in areas of high demand; a uniform news rack design is desired. Mr. Ours stated these are the actions the project will begin with, noting it will be a basic design, as well as a flexible design. He stated a pattern will be laid down, and then if the property owners would like to have additional improvements, they can add on, if it is in a designated area. Mr. Ours explained this is a public/private partnership, noting a main goal of the Vision is to get as much private participation as possible, along with public money, and the Committee will be setting up parameters where this can happen. Mr. Ours reported the proposal is to hire George Girvin, who did extensive work on the original Downtown sidewalks in the 1970's. Mr. Ours stated Mr. Girvin has since done a lot of very professional work in other areas, noting his work is of a quality that will be very suitable to this project, and also affordable for the City. Mr. Ours stated the proposal would be for a site analysis and final design and development, noting the actual preparation of the working drawings would be a third segment, to come at a later time. He reported the cost would be $43,600 for this work, noting there will be a number of public meetings and much public participation. Mr. Ours stated timing is very important, as they would like to have the construction completed prior to the opening of the Rafael Theater at the end of 1997, noting this can be accomplished by the end of next summer if they begin now. Chairman Boro noted there had been discussions in the past about doing a demonstration project on Fourth Street between "A" and "B" Streets, yet the report states the entire street would be done, and he asked for a discussion of the pros and cons of doing it this way. In addition, he stated he was particularly interested in having the property owners, and to some extent the tenants, participating in this project, noting he felt if people paid for something they appreciated and supported it more. He asked that the Committee really try to get good participation from the property owners and the merchants. He felt the project would really work if everyone has ownership in it. Mr. Ours stated the whole approach is to attempt to have ownership by the property owners, and rather than having it be the City's sidewalk, it will be their sidewalk in front of their business. Regarding a demonstration project on Fourth Street, Mr. Ours stated that option still remains open, and it may be that the City will want to do something more on that block, but this is still to be determined. Member Heller stated she was particularly interested in having uniform newsracks, SRRA MINUTES (Regular) 4/1/96 Page 4 SRRA MINUTES (Regular) 4/1/96 Page 5 noting she felt those in place now are particularly ugly. She asked if this was something that could also involve public/private partnership with the news providers, and if they would help fund the newsracks, or will the City have to fund them? Mr. Ours responded this is a very touchy area, noting there have been many discussions about this. He felt the main point would be to design a good looking newsrack that they felt they would want to use, noting there will need to be further discussion with them. He stated the newsracks we have now are not used, and the City also wants to get away from the pedestals with stickers all over them. Mr. Ours stated the goal is to design good looking newsracks that the news providers will be happy with and the City will be happy with, and he is not sure where that compromise lies right now. Member Heller stated the City does not have an Ordinance that requires them to use the newsracks, and noted they would prefer that we do not have such an Ordinance. She stated she would like to be sure the City oversees this. Member Zappetini referred to the corner treatments, noting he has heard much discussion over the concern that the corners, where the street names are, have become breeding areas where people sit, lie down, and hang-out, asking if this will be redone, or if the concept will remain the same? Mr. Ours stated there have been discussions regarding certain areas where people seem to congregate, and the City might take out some of the benches at those particular places. However, he stated that, basically, the benches are used a lot by Senior Citizens, noting it is an important thing to be comfortable Downtown, and to be able to sit and rest once in a while. He acknowledged Mr. Zappetini' s concern was something the Agency has been looking at, noting they are going to attempt to find a way to solve this problem. Mr. Ours stated certain businesses attract specific clientele, who then use the benches to sleep on. He noted there is a connection between what is happening on the other side of the sidewalk and the benches themselves, and he felt they could probably design the improvements to minimize this. Mr. Zappetini asked if the design would be done by the merchants and the Agency? Mr. Ours stated the Agency would develop the design, but will seek input from the merchants. He noted the Agency has been asked to remove many of the benches, and have been reluctant to do that because they serve both sides of the community. Member Cohen moved and Member Heller seconded, to adopt the Resolution approving a contract with George Girvin for Fourth Street sidewalk improvements. RESOLUTION NO. 96-28 - RESOLUTION TO ENTER AN AGREEMENT WITH GEORGE GIRVIN AND ASSOCIATES FOR DESIGN SERVICES FOR FOURTH STREET SIDEWALK IMPROVEMENTS IN AN AMOUNT NOT TO EXCEED $43,600 AND A TERM OF ONE YEAR (4/2/96 TO 4/3/97) AYES: MEMBERS: Cohen, Heller, Phillips, Zappetini & Chairman Boro NOES: MEMBERS: None ABSENT: MEMBERS: None 7. RESOLUTION FINDING THAT THE PUBLIC NECESSITY REQUIRES THE ACQUISITION OF REAL PROPERTY IN CERTAIN REAL PROPERTY OWNED BY STEVE ZAPPETINI & SONS, INC., A CALIFORNIA CORPORATION (PW) - File R-359 x R-246 Member Zappetini stated he was abstaining from this item due to conflict of interest, and left the Council Chamber. Acting Executive Director Ours stated the property in question is a long, narrow strip of land near "A" Street which the City needs to acquire for the right SRRA MINUTES (Regular) 4/1/96 Page 5 SRRA MINUTES (Regular) 4/1/96 Page 6 of way. He noted this piece of land is owned by Steve Zappetini & Sons, Inc. Mr. Ours reported the Agency has made an offer to purchase this piece of property; however, the offer has not been accepted, and staff is recommending the Agency adopt the Resolution so the Agency can proceed with a settlement of the price in court. Redevelopment Agency Attorney Lee Rosenthal, of the law firm of Goldfarb & Lipman, noted this was an odd situation because the property is owned by an entity in which Member Zappetini is an owner. He stated the Redevelopment Law explicitly authorizes a Redevelopment Agency to acquire property owned by a member of the Agency Board, but it also specifies the property must be acquired by Eminent Domain. Mr. Rosenthal stated the only way to acquire this property is to go forward with the Eminent Domain process. Member Cohen wished to clarify, for the record, that there are two parts to this issue: first, in order for the Agency to acquire this property, the Agency must purchase the property through the Eminent Domain process; and second, the issue of price is still outstanding. Mr. Rosenthal stated that was correct, noting the Agency had made an offer, based on an appraisal which was made by the same appraiser who did the appraisals for all of the other properties for the Andersen Drive Acquisition. Mr. Rosenthal stated that if the price is acceptable to the Zappetini Corporation, they will be able to stipulate to that price in the Eminent Domain action, withdraw the deposit, and the case will be done with. He explained that if they disagree with the price, they will have an opportunity in the Eminent Domain action to litigate the issue of what the price should be, the Agency will have the opportunity to present its case, and a decision will be decided by a judge or jury. Member Phillips asked if he was correct that the Agency had used the same appraiser on this property that they used to appraise the previous properties acquired in this same area? Mr. Rosenthal stated that was correct, the same appraiser had appraised all of the right of way properties. Mr. Phillips noted numerous properties had been appraised for this acquisition, and Mr. Rosenthal stated over seventy properties had been appraised. Member Cohen moved and Member Phillips seconded, to adopt the Resolution. RESOLUTION NO. 96-29 - RESOLUTION FINDING THAT THE PUBLIC NECESSITY REQUIRES THE ACQUISITION OF CERTAIN REAL PROPERTY OWNED BY STEVE ZAPPETINI & SONS, INC. , APN: 013-012-11. AYES: MEMBERS: Cohen, Heller, Phillips & Chairman Boro NOES: MEMBERS: None ABSENT: MEMBERS: Zappetini DISQUALIFIED: MEMBERS: Zappetini (due to conflict of interest) Member Zappetini returned to the Council Chamber. 8. AGENCY MEMBER REPORTS: a. AGENCY ACCEPTANCE OF AWARD FROM MARIN CONSERVATION LEAGUE FOR IN FILL AFFORDABLE HOUSING AT ONE "H" STREET - File R-173 (Verbal) SRRA MINUTES (Regular) 4/1/96 Page 6 SRRA MINUTES (Regular) 4/1/96 Page 7 Member Heller announced she and Acting Executive Director Ours had attended the Marin Conservation League (MCL) dinner last Friday night, and accepted an award from MCL on behalf of the City and the Redevelopment Agency for the In Fill Affordable Housing at One "H" Street, noting the two developers were also honored. Ms. Heller reported they were presented with a lovely photograph, and H. James Schafer, one of the developers, is going to reproduce the photograph for the City. She stated it was a very nice event, and noted the MCL seemed genuinely pleased with the type of affordable housing and market street housing the City is doing with In Fill. Mr. Ours stated it felt very good getting an award from the Marin Conservation League. There being no further business to come before the Agency, Chairman Boro adjourned the meeting at 7:50 PM. JEANNE M. LEONCINI, AGENCY SECRETARY SRRA MINUTES (Regular) 4/1/96 Page 7