City of Redwood City

City Council Minutes August 17, 1998

REDWOOD CITY CITY COUNCIL

MAYOR  DIANE HOWARD
VICE MAYOR  IRA RUSKIN

COUNCILMEMBER IAN BAIN
COUNCILMEMBER RICHARD S. CLAIRE
COUNCILMEMBER JIM HARTNETT
COUNCILMEMBER JEFF IRA
COUNCILMEMBER MATT LEIPZIG

1) RESOLUTION NO. 13409 ACCEPTING BID FOR IMPROVEMENTS TO 3272 ROLISON ROAD; APPROVING CONTRACT DOCUMENTS; AUTHORIZING EXECUTION OF AGREEMENT FOR SAID WORK; AND DIRECTING REALLOCATION OF COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT BLOCK GRANT FUNDS TO PAY FOR SAID WORK (Humrich Construction).

2) RESOLUTION NO. 13410 ACCEPTING BID FOR IMPROVEMENTS TO 561-563 DOUGLAS AVENUE; APPROVING CONTRACT DOCUMENTS; AUTHORIZING EXECUTION OF AGREEMENT FOR SAID WORK; AND DIRECTING REALLOCATION OF COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT BLOCK GRANT FUNDS TO PAY FOR SAID WORK (CMS Construction).

Housing Coordinator Jones-Thomas reviewed her report dated August 17, 1998; Subject—3272 Rolison Road and 561-563 Douglas Avenue Improvements. The County has suspended rent for three tenants in these two properties pending repairs. Answering questions of Council Members, Ms. Jones-Thomas informed them that she is seeking local management for the properties; eventually, the City will divest itself of said properties; if the City sells the properties at fair market value, it must return federal funds invested plus appreciation to the Treasury. The funds will go into Redwood City’s Letter of Credit and may be allocated to other projects. It is hoped that "rehab" will start in September and be completed within thirty days.

City Manager Everett pointed out that the work on the buildings will be done without displacing the residents.

Mayor Howard liked the idea of local management as it might facilitate a coordinated effort to improve the area.

In response to a question by Council Member Bain, Ms. Jones-Thomas stated that in a 12-month period the property on Rolison Road brought in $60,000 and the Douglas Avenue property, $40,000.

The City owns no other rental property. The Housing and Human Concerns Committee will conduct public hearings to get input on what should be done with adjacent properties. In both areas, there are opportunities. Ms. Jones-Thomas clarified that the City is holding the properties temporarily. The City Attorney has provided bid documents to start the process. If the work is completed in October, information should be brought to Council within 60 to 90 days for the sale of the Douglas Avenue property.

M/S: Hartnett, Ruskin, to adopt the resolutions accepting bids for improvements to 3272 Rolison Road and to 561-563 Douglas Avenue, authorize execution of agreements with Humrich Construction and with CMS Construction to direct reallocations of Community Development Block Grant funds to pay for said works.

The motion was adopted unanimously by roll call vote.

B. Jefferson Avenue Underpass Project—Task Orders

John Lynch reviewed the staff report for those present.

Council Member Hartnett requested that Council be kept informed regarding a possible $300,000 reimbursement from the transit authority.

M/S: Ruskin, Ira, to approve Task Order No. 1 for Peninsula Corridor Joint Powers Board for the amount of $300,000 and Task Order No. 3 for Rust Environmental and Infrastructure for the amount of $47,700.

MINUTE ORDER NO. 98-221

The motion was approved unanimously by voice vote.

8. PUBLIC HEARING

None.

9. CLOSED SESSION

None.

10. ADJOURNMENT

M/S: Claire, Hartnett, to adjourn in memory of John McCarthy, long-time resident of Redwood City; to cancel the regular meeting of August 24, 1998.

The motion was adopted unanimously by voice vote and Council adjourned to August 31, 1998.

 

Respectfully submitted,

Dorothy M. Cornelius

Acting Deputy City Clerk

SPECIAL MEETING

AUGUST 17, 1998

 CALL TO ORDER 8:47 PM, Chairwoman Howard presiding.

ROLL CALL

Directors Present: Bain, Claire, Hartnett (leave 8:55 PM), Ira (leave 9 PM), Leipzig, Vice Chairman Ruskin, Chairwoman Howard

Directors Absent: None

Staff Members Present: City Manager Everett, City Attorney Schricker, Executive Director Michael Church, Economic Development Coordinator Patricia Webb, Volunteer Balsamo.

Also Present: Acting Secretary Cornelius

1. PUBLIC COMMENT

Don Saye, 2021 Broadway, Redwood City, expressed mixed emotions. (Secretary’s note: It was determined Mr. Saye was referring to an agenda item. He will speak when that item is discussed.)

2. Approval of Minutes

M/S: Hartnett, Ira, to approve the Minutes of July 27, 1998 as submitted. The motion was adopted unanimously.

MINUTE ORDER NO. RD24-98

3. GENERAL

A. Task Order No. 1 requesting additional consulting and environmental site assessment services from Subsurface Consultants, Inc.—Bradford Street Lot.

Executive Director Michael Church reviewed the Staff Report dated August 17, 1998 and was available to answer questions.

M/S: Ira, Ruskin, to approve Task Order No. 1 to the agreement with Subsurface Consultants in an amount not to exceed $25,000, which supplements the initial contract of $15,150. The motion was adopted unanimously by voice vote.

MINUTE ORDER NO. RD25-98

B. Proposed Downtown Retail-Cinema Project

Director Hartnett stated he has a client who owns property in the area being considered. Therefore, he excused himself (8:55 PM).

Economic Development Coordinator Webb reviewed the Staff Report dated August 17, 1998 and showed the proposed project area on the screen. In generally, the project area being considered is bounded by Jefferson, Broadway, and Middlefield, making the area as broad as possible. If approved, staff will send out Request for Proposals Friday. The owner participation documents will be distributed at that time, also.

(The City Attorney conducted a brief conference with Director Ira, followed by a brief conference between Chairwoman Howard and Director Ira.)

City Attorney Schricker announced that the area under consideration includes a source of income to Director Ira’s firm at this time. Therefore, participation would result in a conflict of interest.

Director Ira left Chamber at 9:00 PM. Should the area be redefined, participation by Director Ira will be reevaluated.

Responding to questions from Director Bain, Ms. Webb clarified that the letter on page 3B-4 of the Report would be sent to property owners in the project area and that the starred location on the map on page 3B-15 pinpoints a site of possible historical significance. This is being investigated and staff hopes to complete that determination prior to the September 14 pre-bid meeting.

Director Leipzig asked if property owners of the Middlefield Road area had been involved in the process and was informed that one of the owners had attended one of the meetings. Mr. Church stated that the owners have not been notified, but will be as part of the first step of the formal process. However, it was pointed out businesses in the area have been told of the potential project.

Director Leipzig inquired as to how important the inclusion of that block of Middlefield Road was to the project, and if there were an option to exclude it. He was informed that exclusion was one scenario; however, the maximum amount of footprint allows more flexibility of design.

PUBLIC COMMENT

Don Saye, 2021 Broadway, expressed concerns about long-time merchants on Broadway who might be relocated, particularly two he considers to be among the m viable: a jeweler and a baby discount store. Many current businesses draw foot traffic and his experience shows that businesses are not as successful after relocation. He urged the directors to give great care and attention to businesses that are currently vital.

Ms. Webb believes that businesses would have an opportunity to remain in that area or be close by.

Rob Suelflohn, Powerhouse Gym, 2015 Broadway, addressed the Board regarding parking. Approximately 600-700 people use his gym each day, and access to parking is important. His background is in commercial real estate and he has never seen a movie theater with enough parking. Movie theaters are great as they bring a lot of people to the area, but other businesses need parking spaces, too. He urged the Board to protect the lots for the other bushiness.

Mr. Suelflohn was told that the Agency is conducting a parking survey, a meter study, and that possibilities exist that the developer would build parking areas and that public lots could have decks added.

Vice Chairman Ruskin urged that when proposals are received and evaluated and decisions made, wishful thinking not be used in regard to parking. Vice Chairman Ruskin stated the RFP was not as rigorous as he would like and distributed some suggested additions he had drafted. The additions were designed to show the City’s commitment to quality structures. He stated Tom Gilman supports the additions and then distributed some additional language proposed by Mr. Gilman. Vice Chairman Ruskin read the proposal for the record.

"The design must be of sufficient quality that the massing, bulk, features, and facade of the Theatre Complex have architectural interest and integrity, and that they reflect and complement the scale and style of the nearby City Hall/ Library complex and downtown Broadway.

"The intent of these requirements will be further clarified at the September 14th meeting.

"1. Street elevations must not be blank walls, but must contain glazed retail units and/or glazed lobbies.

2. Streets around the perimeter of the Complex must include street trees and have width sufficient to accommodate peak hour pedestrian traffic.

3. Proposals will include:

a. square footage

b. floor plans of all levels

c. large-scale elevations for all streets including massing, size, color, etc., of adjacent structures (without use of trees to obscure architecture).

4. Proposed parking structures must include number and placement of exits and entrances so parking flow can be analyzed." (Ruskin)

"The project needs to be compatible in scale with the existing architecture of downtown Redwood City. This project is a pivotal location to enhance the pedestrian movement along Broadway and Jefferson. Care should be taken to match and enhance the existing pedestrian fabric and texture. The proposed project should have both a vertical massing and scale at street level that is compatible. In addition, the project should also relate to the horizontal scale of existing buildings.

"The materials for the project should be of a high quality and should, at ground level, be of a pedestrian scale. The design and detail of the architecture should enhance the pedestrian experience. Natural materials are encouraged.

"The design of the street level facades should contain sufficient relief to encourage pedestrian interest and interaction with the buildings." (Gilman)

Discussions about the proposed additions to the RFP followed. It was suggested Vice Chairman Ruskin’s additions could be used as guidelines. Some of the additions would require more detail than usual at the early stages of the process. The level of detail could be increased at each stage. Proposals which included the Middlefield Road strip or excluded the strip could be submitted. Mass of structure could be alleviated by use of architectural features that would permit pedestrians to not be overwhelmed and create pedestrian interest at eye level.

M/S: Leipzig, Bain, to define the project description as the "Proposed Downtown Retail-Cinema Project" as it is described in the Requests for Proposals, amended to include the word changes presented as follows:

(Ruskin’s additions)

item 1. shall read "Street elevations must not be blank walls, but should contain glazed retail units and/or glazed lobbies."

item 3, a and b, shall read:

"a. appropriate square footage

b. conceptual floor plans of all levels"

(Gilman’s additions)

delete last sentence of first paragraph,

to designate the entire area portrayed in Exhibit "A" (attached) as the "Proposed Downtown Retail-Cinema Project Area" for the purpose of the Owner Participation process, to direct staff to distribute "Offers to Participate" to the owners of property located within the "Proposed Downtown Retail-Cinema Project Area," approve distribution of the RFP for the Proposed Downtown Retail-Cinema Project."

MINUTE ORDER NO. RD26-98

The motion carried unanimously by those present (5-0, Hartnett and Ira absent), voice vote.

4. CLOSED SESSION

None.

5. ADJOURNMENT

M/S: Leipzig, Bain, carried by unanimous voice vote by those present (5-0, Hartnett and Ira absent) to adjourn the meeting at 9:45 PM.

Respectfully submitted,

Dorothy M. Cornelius

Acting Secretary

Redevelopment Agency

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