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HomeMy WebLinkAboutRA Minutes 1993-08-02SRRA MINUTES (Regular) 8/2/93 Page I IN THE COUNCIL CHAMBERS OF THE CITY OF SAN RAFAEL, MONDAY, AUGUST 2, 1993, AT 7:30 PM Regular Meeting: Present: Albert J. Boro, Chairman San Rafael Redevelopment Agency Dorothy L. Breiner, Member Paul M. Cohen, Member Michael A. Shippey, Member Joan Thayer, Member Absent: None Also Present: Pamela J. Nicolai, Executive Director David Walker, Assistant Agency Attorney Jeanne M. Leoncini, Agency Secretary ORAL COMMUNICATIONS OF AN URGENCY NATURE None. CONSENT CALENDAR Member Thayer moved and Member Cohen seconded, to approve the recommended action on the following Consent Calendar items: ITEMS RECOMMENDED ACTION 1. Approval of Minutes of Regular Meeting of Approved as submitted. July 19, 1993 (AS) 2. Grant Request and Reimbursement of Fees forADOPTED RESOLUTION NO. 93-22 - Ecology House, Corner of Catalina BoulevardAPPROVING AND AUTHORIZING EXECU- (RA) - File R-173 x (SRCC) 13-16 x 229 TION OF A GRANT AGREEMENT PROVIDING FOR AN AGENCY GRANT OF $100,000 TO ECOLOGY HOUSE, INC. 3. Appointment of Members to Downtown Implement- Approved staff recommendation. ation Committee (RA) - File R-304 x (SRCC)as follows: 140 Linda Bellatorre Gloria Brennan Patty Dailey Tony Diosi Barbara Fernbacher Elissa Giambastiani Eda Locte Sandy Lollini Juliet Meehan Cyr Miller Neil Moran Larry Paul Lynn Pfeifer Jeffrey Portnoy Charles Stuckey Thom Uelk Marlena Weinstein Ann Weston Erwin Williams Luther Wallace SRRA MINUTES (Regular) 8/2/93 Page 1 SRRA MINUTES (Regular) 8/2/93 Page 2 5. Approval of Reimbursement of Permit Fees for Marin Housing Center, 56 Harbor Street (ED) - File R-173 x (SRCC) 187 x 13-16 ADOPTED RESOLUTION NO. 93-23 - APPROVING AND AUTHORIZING REIM- BURSEMENT TO MARIN HOUSING CENTER OF USE PERMIT FEES IN THE AMOUNT OF $1,312.50 FOR EXPANSION OF HOMELESS HOUSING LOCATED AT 56 HARBOR STREET AYES: MEMBERS: Breiner, Cohen, Shippey, Thayer & Chairman Boro NOES: MEMBERS: None ABSENT: MEMBERS: None The following item was pulled from the Consent Calendar for discussion: 4. RESOLUTION ACCEPTING PROPOSAL FROM CH2M HILL FOR KERNER BOULEVARD AND ROSSI PUMP STATIONS REHABILITATION (PW) - File R-335 x (SRCC) 9-3-40 Member Breiner asked if during the project at 555 Francisco Boulevard, the contractors could improve the appearance of this building? Assistant Executive Director (Public Works) Bernardi responded they would take her concerns into consideration and do the requested work. Member Breiner moved and Member Shippey seconded, to adopt the Resolution. Under discussion, Member Cohen asked with regard to a discussion they had with the San Rafael Sanitation District about the notable dollar amount between the two bids. Mr. Cohen asked if the bid from Caldwell covered the initial study? Mr. Bernardi responded affirmatively. RESOLUTION NO. 93-24 - ACCEPTING PROPOSAL FROM CH2M HILL CALIFORNIA, INC. FOR THE REHABILITATION OF THE KERNER BLVD. AND ROSSI PUMP STATIONS IN THE AMOUNT OF $14,000 AND AUTHORIZING THE ASSISTANT EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR (PUBLIC WORKS) TO EXECUTE AN AGREEMENT WITH CH2M HILL FOR SUBJECT PROJECT AYES: MEMBERS: Breiner, Cohen, Shippey, Thayer & Chairman Boro NOES: MEMBERS: None ABSENT:MEMBERS: None 6. QUARTERLY HOUSING REPORT (RA) - File R-173 x (SRCC) 187 x 13-16 Assistant Executive Ours explained two highlights of this report which were: 1) the payment of the monies from the Centertown project, which is part of the recycling that was discussed two and one-half years ago and actually occurred last Quarter; and 2) the Below Market Rate Rental Housing Program Monitoring Procedures -- he stated staff made up a list of these procedures, per Member Breiner's request, and decided it was time to bring to the Agency the rents and the progress of what was happening in each of these agreements and set this up so the Agency will receive this report on a quarterly basis. He stated once this is set up, it will be handled in-house by Katie Korzun. Member Thayer asked a question with regard to the Planning Department, that one of her concerns with the affordable housing in Marin County is that it is "pegged" so high. She stated she looked at some of these affordable housing units and found the rentals to be at approximately $900 to $1,000 which, in her opinion, were out of the affordable range. She asked if there were any parameters under which they could change that definition of affordability? SRRA MINUTES (Regular) 8/2/93 Page 2 SRRA MINUTES (Regular) 8/2/93 Page 3 Executive Director Nicolai responded this came up during the budget hearings and stated she felt this would be addressed in the update of the housing element SRRA MINUTES (Regular) 8/2/93 Page 9 4 7. 4 SRRA MINUTES (Regular) 8/2/93 Page which is to take a look at that formula. Ms. Nicolai stated that at present, the formula matches the HUD standards and basically targets a more affordable percentage, if that is what the Agency wants. She stated a part of what they would be looking at was what the trade-offs are, because the lower the dollar amount is, the more the Agency might have to put in to make those projects work. Assistant Executive Director (Planning) Pendoley stated this was done under the HUD standards, but the numbers were changed in some parts of the County. He noted they were on a regional context. Mrs. Thayer stated, in her opinion, the problem lies in looking at the median level because those people who are below this figure may be extremely below the average in income in Marin County. Mr. Pendoley stated his point was there is not that much unassisted rental housing that is being built in this County just because the economics of building it are so difficult to do. He stated staff used the various aspects of the Below Market Rate program to do the density incentives and the height incentives to promote that and get it done; however, in the past this was the way this was accomplished. Mr. Pendoley stated that while the Agency was correct, it did seem to be, in some ways, a high number or a number that is right on the market. However, on the other hand there are construction and land cost factors which may make it difficult to reduce it significantly if they want to keep production up. Mayor Boro stated this will come back to the Agency during the update and review of their housing element. Member Breiner moved and Member Thayer seconded, to accept the Quarterly Housing Report. AYES: MEMBERS: Breiner, Cohen, Shippey, Thayer & Chairman Boro NOES: MEMBERS: None ABSENT:MEMBERS: None USE OF 519 FOURTH STREET FOR CITY STORAGE AND AUTHORIZATION TO PREPARE CONTRACT WITH BOCCE FEDERATION FOR BUILDING REPAIRS (Rec) - File R-140 No. 8 x (SRCC) 9-3-65 x 9-3-66 x 12-1 x 9-3-32 Executive Director Nicolai stated staff has been working with the community group on the idea of creating some Bocce Ball courts on Albert Park and the building at 522 "B" Street is in the way of the proposed construction of Bocce Ball courts. She stated there were a lot of City records stored in this building currently and staff was requesting use of the 519 Fourth Street building to move this material to make that area available for the Bocce Ball courts. She stated there were, however, toxic problems on the property of 519 Fourth Street which needed to be addressed. She stated this property was not one that the City would be able to market any time soon until these toxic issues get resolved and by essentially allowing the City to use it for storage, to move the materials out of 522 "B" Street, staff can demolish one wing of that building there and get community groups involved in not only building the Bocce Ball courts, but for a significant dollar amount less than what it would cost the City to do any repairs at 519 Fourth Street. She stated before they could proceed ahead with even working with the community getting involved in the Bocce Ball court project, they need to have the ability to move the materials out of the wing of the building at 522 "B" Street and rearrange the method in which the City deals with some of their storage of materials. She stated what was before the Agency tonight was a request to use 519 Fourth Street as a storage facility for City items, noting it will go through the Design Review process to make it SRRA MINUTES (Regular) 8/2/93 Page SRRA MINUTES (Regular) 8/2/93 Page 5 look good and then start getting more specific with the community group on the cost and estimates for the Bocce Ball process. SRRA MINUTES (Regular) 8/2/93 Page 9 SRRA MINUTES (Regular) 8/2/93 Page I Mayor Boro stated he understood the efforts through Mrs. Nave's group would also be to help take $25,000 set aside for the "B" Street building and leverage it in order to complete the work there, which would result in getting that building repaired and useable as a result of this effort. Mr. Ours stated there will be a new roof on the building at 519 Fourth Street and the old interior would be torn out, which would produce open storage area. Member Breiner asked what would be envisioned as the use for the remodeled "B" Street building that is left? Ms. Nicolai responded that one wing would be taken out, which is where the Bocce Ball courts will be installed. Ms. Nicolai stated there have been several community groups talking with staff about combining their efforts to contribute their funds to do a project in Albert Park to create a community center with one room, with a kitchen, which can be utilized for club meetings and, also, leased out for other community uses in conjunction with the Recreation Center in that area, which would create a public/non-profit partnership in getting that building rehabilitated. She noted the money raised from the use of that facility would offset some of the maintenance cost to the City, but also a percentage share of this would go to their private club. She stated it was not the intent to demolish the entire building, but the part that is on the land that the Bocce Ball courts will be built. Member Breiner asked if this building was to be torn down in the original Master Plan? Ms. Nicolai responded affirmatively and Recreation Director McNamee stated it was to be torn down originally to create a teen center on that land. Member Cohen asked for more information when this is brought back to the Agency at the appropriate time in terms the idea of leveraging funds and use of volunteers who might not otherwise be able to do this. He stated he was in favor of this idea. He requested more information about contracting with the Bocce Federation before the repairs are done. He stated if this was to be done on a volunteer basis, then he saw a question of liability they needed answers to, but if portions of it is to be contracted out, then they needed to make the decision whether or not to contract through the Bocce Federation and then have them contract with other contractors, or have those bids done directly here. Mr. Ours stated the community group was proposing a work program that staff has not seen yet and did not know how that contract would work, but as soon as staff gets this information they will have the Agency's attorneys look at it and make sure it is within the rules of this issue. Mr. Ours stated he had a conversation with the Agency attorneys about this concept and they stated, conceptually, the Agency can do this. Ms. Nicolai stated the challenge would be to capitalize on Ms. Nave's talents and stay within the realm of the Agency's process without one undoing the other. Member Thayer asked who was responsible for the toxics on the site? Ms. Nicolai responded the original toxic material they would be dealing with related to the County gas tanks that were on the site. Ms. Nicolai stated that at this time, staff was pursuing other material that allegedly came from another business across the street from this location, which involves getting the business owners' cooperation and there is a period of monitoring involved, too. Mrs. Thayer asked who would be liable for the cost of the clean-up of this site? Ms. Nicolai stated the Agency was pursuing the County for the materials they left on this site. She stated the materials from the off-site location would be the responsibility of the property generator. Member Breiner asked if the purchase price was somewhere over $475,000? Mr. SRRA MINUTES (Regular) 8/2/93 Page 1.1 SRRA MINUTES (Regular) 8/2/93 Page Ours responded it was approximately $450,000. SRRA MINUTES (Regular) 8/2/93 Page N SRRA MINUTES (Regular) 8/2/93 Page Member Shippey asked if staff had a time schedule for the clean-up of toxics on this site? Ms. Nicolai stated the gas tanks have been removed, so staff has dealt with what was on the property that they had the ability to deal with; however, the remainder of the problem is having the off-site generator geared up to deal with their piece of this and looking to Water Quality Control to bring pressure to bear on that particular generator, because until they do something, the Agency is somewhat at the mercy of way the materials are flying in and near the property. Mr. Shippey asked if this could be resolved by the City taking legal action on this issue? Ms. Nicolai responded affirmatively. Mr. Ours stated they were getting close to this type of action with the County, at this point in time. Chairman Boro stated the issue before the Agency tonight was the question of using this site for off-site storage for various City departments' materials and noted he hoped to find a way in which to minimize the paper content involved in this storage and purchase a building just to store paper and perhaps utilize microfilming instead. Ms. Nicolai responded a lot of this material was being microfilmed and some was older material and staff had to go strictly with what the law allows the City to dispose of, which is the problem. Member Breiner stated one of her major concerns regarding this is the look that it presents to that area. She stated she would like to see a fence design that would be a plus to the neighborhood, rather than a negative factor. Chairman Boro stated it was his understanding from Mr. Ours that staff would do the roof, as well as the general appearance of this building. Mr. Ours responded affirmatively. Herb Heller, owner of Heller's Childrens' Shop across the street from this building, expressed his concern about the current use of this site as a storage area for portable toilets for the Farmers' Market, wash facilities and vehicles in the back of the lot. He questioned what this will look like because in his opinion, in the past no one has cared about how it looks. He stated they were using parking there because they have no other parking available for their customers and/or employees. He stated that area was to have been a parking district originally and a group of the local merchants put up a $45,000 down payment for that property which sat idly for three or four years and he felt they were very fortunate to get their deposit back from the City. Mr. Heller stated he did not agree with storage facilities on this lot. He questioned if anyone was checking into a Use Permit or something like that and wondered why the City can do this without a permit, whereas the local merchants could not do anything without a permit. He stated his main concern was the looks and, secondly, that they would lose the few parking places which they were given by the City on a temporary basis so their employees could park there and they were sharing this parking space with the Marin Cleaners business, so there are six spaces which are not being used. He noted they have no parking at all and are attempting to stay in business with competition from Toys -R -Us, which has a large parking lot. He noted he has been in business since 1958 and they are just trying to survive. He felt this was not going to help businesses survive and expressed doubts that this would be done in an attractive fashion, due to past buildings which were not done in such a fashion. He stated he has been trying to remove the public toilets from that area through the City's process, but with no success. He stated he felt that putting a storage facility there would not be any help to the local merchants and requested assistance from the City on this matter, as he would not like to lose the use of those six parking spaces they have now. Also, he was concerned about the appearance of SRRA MINUTES (Regular) 8/2/93 Page the area. SRRA MINUTES (Regular) 8/2/93 Page SRRA MINUTES (Regular) 8/2/93 Page 10 SRRA MINUTES (Regular) 8/2/93 Page Chairman Boro responded this proposal will allow the City to start to clean that site up and do more with it with the small amount of money the City has. He stated the intent of the City was not only to turn it into another use, but also to clean up that site. He asked staff to comment on the clean-up of the toilets, the parking issue and how they might go ahead and use this site, once it is done. Mr. Ours responded the toilets have been placed there for the Farmers' Market in order not to take them back to Sonoma County to save some money, but when staff heard that Mr. Heller was upset by their placement at that site, Mr. Ours discussed this with Mrs. Breiner today and came to a decision on an alternate location which they will be moved to next Thursday, at the end of "A" Street. Chairman Boro then asked about the parking issue and Mr. Ours responded staff has been allowing the businesses in the area to park in the front of the property on a temporary basis. He stated these businesses were advised that this would change in the future when the City had a need for that site. Mr. Ours stated there was metered parking and some that is not convenient, but he did not have a solution for the quality of the parking available. Chairman Boro asked, with regard to the appearance of this building, that information will be brought back to the Agency at the time Mr. Ours has some specific plans before they proceed with this project. Member Breiner moved and Member Thayer seconded, to approve the staff recommendations with the addition that staff bring back to the Agency more specific plans for this project. AYES: MEMBERS: Breiner, Cohen, Shippey, Thayer & Chairman Boro NOES: MEMBERS: None ABSENT:MEMBERS: None There being no further business, the meeting was adjourned at 7:55 PM. JEANNE M. LEONCINI, Agency Secretary SRRA MINUTES (Regular) 8/2/93 Page 10