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2007, 10-02 Special Joint Council/County Library District Board Meeting Minutes MINUTES City of Spokane Valley Special Joint Meeting/Study Session Spokane Valley City Council/Spokane County Library District Board 4:00 p.m. Tuesday, October 2, 2007 Attendance. Councilmembers: Staff: Diana Wilhite, Mayor Dave Mercier, City Manager Steve Taylor, Deputy Mayor Mike Connelly, City Attorney Bill Gothmann, Councilmember Neil Kersten,Public Works Director Rich Munson, Councilmember Scott Kuhta, Senior Planner Gary Schimmels, Councilmember Ken Thompson, Finance Director Dick Denenny, Councilmember Kathy McClung, Community Development Dir. Mike DeVleming, Councilmember Steve Worley, Senior Engineer Deanna Griffith, Administrative Assistant Library Board Members: Carolyn George,Administrative Assistant Ann Apperson, Chair Darla Arnold, Office Assistant Jacob Laete, Vice Chair Inga Note, Traffic Engineer Tim Hattenburg, Trustee Chris Bainbridge, City Clerk Frank Payne, Trustee Mary Lloyd, Trustee Mike Wirt, Library Director 1. Call to Order, Welcome and Introductions -Mayor Wilhite Mayor Wilhite called the meeting to order, welcomed Library Board Members, staff, and citizens to the meeting; asked that each Councilmember and Library Board Trustee introduce themselves, then invited Michael Freedman, of Freedman,Tung&Bottomley to give his presentation. 2. Presentation: Michael Freedman. TOPIC: Development of City Center and Library Site plan Option for West Side of University Avenue Mr. Freedman said that the purpose of today's working session it to allow interaction among Councilmembers and Library Trustees so that each group may benefit from comments from the other. Mr. Freedman said that the master planning process for two public buildings normally takes four months; and that this plan will be accomplished in four to six weeks; and that City staff felt it would be prudent to ask for Council's time to allow feedback for the preliminary aspects of the plan. Mr. Freedman said approximately 15 minutes ago, he and others completed a working session which began at 1:00 p.m. with City Manager, Library representatives Mike Wirt and Ellen Miller; other staff, and members from ClearPath, and that they had a wide-range discussion on this issue as there is more to this project than merely site planning. Mr. Freedman said that overall the context for the city center, library and city hall is the larger effort to build a new city center in the middle of a revitalized Sprague and Appleway corridor; that there is a draft sub-area plan, and they are near coordinating a date for a special joint Council/Planning Commission study session to move that forward toward public hearings; that this has been a long path, the draft has been completed at staff review, and now the public review draft will be appearing at an imminent study session, and the process is coming to an end where there will be a sub-area plan that entitles the city center and defines its position in relation to the rest of the pieces of Sprague and Appleway. He continued by explaining that the sub-area plan defines a fairly large area as something similar to a greater downtown Minutes Special Meeting Council/Library 10-02-07 Page 1 of 5 Approved by Council: 10-23-07 neighborhood, which he referred to as a City Center District; and in the center of the City Center District is the area referred to as the City center core, which is the place that will feel like the heart of the community. To get the project moving, the site needed to be determined, i.e., which side of University, straddling University, or elsewhere; and he explained that it was decided to focus planning efforts for the first phase to see how the vulnerable property east of University would lay-out; that they laid out a main street and a related space for a singe public building, the City Hall, which would be visible on Sprague and Appleway and act as a type of anchor for the retail portion of the City Center. Mr. Freedman continued by explaining that their next task was to take all the same kinds of requirements for successful city centers, for highly visible prominent civic buildings, and for healthy relationships among all those pieces, and to put them on a different site. The site in question, he said, is that area bounded by Sprague to the north, University to the east, Appleway to the south, and is not bounded by Dartmouth (as it has a piece on both sides); and that area does not require a change to the draft sub-area plan; and said this site is in keeping with the vision developed in the workshops, and in the Council/Planning Commission study sessions, and that per Council direction and the opportunities presented by the Library, there is now a concerted effort to investigate the possibility of having that first phase happen in the area just mentioned. Mr. Freedman said that he has been directed to assume that the site that includes Rosauers and their surface parking lot,the Carl's Jr. and the McDonald's,will not move; and the part of the site available for re-development would be everything else, which is approximately 30.5 acres as compared with the previously considered site of about 19 acres. Mr. Freedman then showed the diagrams of what a city center might look like in this area; that the main public space and the main activity core will run perpendicular to Sprague and to where most of the traffic will be; and from working with Consultant Robert Gibbs, they have learned there would be an opportunity if needed to develop the City Center incrementally, although that would not be the preferred case; and said that which case will be the actual development method should be discovered within the next few months. Mr. Freedman said the preliminary site plan ground level would include a linear green space for the main civic space in the middle of everything, with small scale shops on the sides with awnings and front doors all facing out towards the middle space; with one lane going one direction and one lane going the other direction. He further explained that the library would be placed at the terminus of the space on Sprague, and the City Hall at the terminus of Dartmouth with Dartmouth remade as a grand avenue so that both buildings would be completely two-sided buildings with no back; with all four sides having nicely detailed windows. Mr. Freedman said some might be wondering why not put City Hall where the library site would be, and he explained that City Hall, from the point of view of a retail developer, is an office building; but does not create anything close to the traffic of a library; and that of all the range of public buildings, from theaters and playhouses to museums, nothing creates the traffic that a library generates; and having the library right up against the retail as an anchor of that space, is the smartest thing to do in terms of making this space as successful as it could possibly be. Mr. Freedman said that while it is important that both buildings (library and city hall) have a prominent view from Appleway and Sprague, it is important to make compensations so that the City Hall appears more prestigious, and such could be accomplished in the architecture, such as putting a dome on City Hall and not one on the library building. He further explained that retail would be splayed out at the Sprague Avenue entrance, they would put in small pedestrian only plazas, and some freestanding retail buildings within the space; and that the other green spaces would not be activity spaces but would be green spaces to off set the buildings. The proposal, he continued, would be for parallel parking in front of the shops and on all streets on all sides, except have head-in parking in front of the library; that a parking lot would be next to City Hall with controlled use by City Hall; and there would be two parking lots with controlled use by the library; and have shared parking between the two buildings, and shared parking with all the other buildings in the city center. Mr. Freedman said that each building shows as 30,000 square foot footprints, two-story buildings (60,000 total square feet), and the combination of those mentioned parking area would accommodate Minutes Special Meeting Council/Library 10-02-07 Page 2 of 5 Approved by Council: 10-23-07 those needed 400 spaces; and with tuck-under town homes, he said, there would be nothing on Appleway or Sprague that has a parking lot in front. Mr. Freedman then showed examples of other cities which have added a main street experience to a town green experience. He also explained that the goal is to have the area sufficiently self-enclosed so that the developer doesn't have to feel that the imagery of the corridor is particularly visible when you are actually inside the area, and the area would include mix uses with houses, office and lodging and housing on top, and a green on bottom. Regarding traffic control, Mr. Freedman said he feels it very important to have two, one-way streets, more narrow, to cut through the green to feel like a town green, controlled with stop signs which are safer than signal lights as people tend to rush through a light as it is about to change;but can't do so with a stop sign. Mr. Freedman also mentioned that in the earlier meeting today, there was discussion about the possibility of having the library have a front porch, and/or pull the library back some so that the library would not only feel as if it were behind some green on Appleway, but there would be an extension of the green or some plaza space in front of the building where they could program some library activities. Additionally, Mr. Freedman said it is still not determined if we can rely on two-way traffic; and that the highest priority for capital improvements for the city center, is to take the short segment from University to Dishman- Mica, and to change that to a two-way segment; and that he feels that we would still need the protected angle parking out front on the Sprague frontage to make that retailing successful; and in so doing,the city center in this site would further re-affirm the importance of this being a two-way segment. Discussion topics included parking for library patrons which would accommodate the safety of children, seniors and those with handicaps, including comment from Mr. Wirt that staff would park in the shared parking areas; the approximately quarter-mile walking distance from the buildings to shared parking areas; that there will be four cars per 1,00 for retail, and 400 separate spaces for the public buildings. Mr. Freedman said although they are on a "fast-track," there is time to do a new site plan if Council and Library Board Members prefer to see more than the 74 parking spaces close up to the building. Deputy Mayor Taylor and Councilmember DeVleming said they like this layout; but Councilmember DeVleming asked about the creation of covered walkways; and Mr. Freedman said covered sidewalks is possible in some areas, that it would cost more, but another consideration is arcaded retail, and explained that an arcade is where the building is built over the sidewalk and you walk under; arcaded retail makes the retail a little less visible; and in his business of making city centers, there was thought that outdoor centers would not be more successful then indoor shopping malls in areas with cold weather; but a developer proved that to be wrong with his city center in Easton Ohio, which became a model, and we know that the urban format outdoor ones are more successful than shopping malls, even in areas with cold weather. Mr. Freedman also stressed that Councilmembers and Library Board members are the best ones to make that judgment call, and if they feel covered walkways would make this more successful and be worth adding, Mr. Freedman said he awaits that direction, although he personally does not feel those are needed. Regarding parking, Councilmember Schimmels asked if the street in front of the library would be widened and put in diagonal parking, giving about three times the parking, to which Mr. Freedman responded that would be possible, but it would pull the library further away from the retail; but that is an option to change all the parking to angled;but it would also make the space to cross wider. In response to a question about trips generated by the library, Mr. Wirt said he recalls that in 2006, there were approximately 280,000 people who walked in the doors, give or take 10,000 or so; but that he could not estimate how many daily trips there are for the library. Library Board Member Mary Lloyd said that when she looks at Appleway Boulevard, she sees some sight issues that she also experiences at the Valley Mall; and that she can't see left to turn left; that she wants sufficient parking and she feels that 74 is not ample parking taking into account the daily trips and that they have already outgrown the library they currently occupy. Mr. Freedman explained that there are 200 separate spaces for the library; and that 74 of them are in one area, another 20 or so in another section, and the other 100+ in another section. Ms. Lloyd said she has concern in getting in and out of the Minutes Special Meeting Council/Library 10-02-07 Page 3 of 5 Approved by Council: 10-23-07 Appleway Boulevard as shown now, as it makes it cumbersome to come in, drop off, come around, and leave; or dropping off patrons for the library and returning east again one can't turn left. Mr. Freedman said that he, Gladding Jackson and Mr. Kersten would need to work together on that issue. Regarding the Transit Park and Ride, Mr. Freedman said one of the virtues of developing on this side of University Road, is that proximity to the park and ride promotes ridership and is good for the success of the center; and if light rail materializes, that would be of tremendous benefit, as light rail and all forms of transit help stimulate residential development and is a wonderful asset. Other topics discussed included drive-up book drops and the various possible places for such; lack of a front porch, which Mr. Freedman said the working group would like addressed, and parking proximity which Mr. Freedman said he understood the working group said was fine; the 195,000 square feet available for retail, that we are over-built but there are still some retailers not represented; the 650 square feet of green space; possible anchors for the area and the mix of retailers we get and each entity's parking desires; flexibility of the center, and making the center look good even if development were to occur in phases. Mr. Freedman said he is collecting feedback and information on anything that requires further detailing, so when they move to the next round of site planning, all the comments will be incorporated into any changes then have them reviewed again by staff, library and others so that at the end of the constrained time-period, we'll know where the library will go, and where the City Hall will go, and how the circulation works, that the buildings won't be designed yet, but we'll know that we can fit in a two- story building; and that this is the first level of"shutting off options." Mr. Freedman also mentioned that for the Library and for City Hall, they strongly recommend two front doors, which is common for the best public buildings; and one should not be able to distinguish one front door from the other or one should not appear as a front door and the other appear as a back door; that one side should feel more suburban and green while the other side feels more urban for the Library and City Hall; that Appleway was more of a green avenue and Sprague a little more urban in character. Mr. Freedman added that there will be a 12 foot sidewalk at the library area, 20 feet of head-in parking, 15 feet of backup, and another 12 feet of green land space with trees, all set back from Appleway which will appear behind the green. Mr. Freedman mentioned that he would assume there would be some type of joint agreement between the City and the Library concerning joint parking spaces, thereby eliminating the need to build two separate parking lots. Mayor Wilhite said she finds this an intriguing plan, and if other concerns or questions arise, Council and Board members can contact either City Staff Senior Planner Scott Kuhta, or Mr. Freedman. Ms. Apperson stated that she likes the appeal of the plan and that there would be good visibility on the main avenues, and said she was nicely surprised that the front piece would be the library rather than the City Hall; but voiced her continuing concern with parking, and how to accommodate and provide for the safety of seniors, children, and those with handicaps; and added that she feels library staff can work out those issues; she said she loves the green area as well. Other councilmembers voiced their approval of the plan as well. Mr. Freedman reiterated that once they have a sight plan, which is the first level to determine which way buildings face, where they are located, parking, and how to navigate through the area; that will allow movement to the next level to determine what essential things need to be directed to the architect for the key elements broken down in bullet points, to all make the City and Library Board's requirements clear; whereby those issues would be presented to the architect who adds everything together, and designs a building for the review. After the site plan, he continued by explaining, they usually develop the "problematic master plan" which is a list of the key elements that add specifications for the building to the site plan for review by council and library board; and that the sub-area plan has extremely detailed regulations and guidelines for all private development; and that they do not regulate the design of public buildings because to make a great city, you usually want the public buildings to be the exceptions, so if you require all the private buildings to be built to the sidewalks, you'd want to set Minutes Special Meeting Council/Library 10-02-07 Page 4 of 5 Approved by Council: 10-23-07 back the public buildings; and if private buildings are two or three story high limits, you'd want a four- story public buildings; so that the public buildings punctuate the city and become the icons and the landmarks; and once they bring to Council the joint staff/consultant recommended contents of the subarea plan, that will form a basis to help with this as it addresses colors, materials, architectural styles, as well as all the land use and development standards necessary. Concerning when Council might receive information from Mr. Gibbs, Mr. Kuhta mentioned that Mr. Gibbs hopes to bring in some developers in early November; he needs some answers from us and one thing he would like to show the developers is the site plan; and he added that the reason we are doing the site plan at this time is the Library District would like to see the location of the library in preparation for their upcoming bond proposal; and we are also using Mr. Gibbs to attract a developer. There being no further business, Mayor Wilhite thanked everyone for attending, and thanked Mr. Freedman for his presentation, and she adjourned the meeting at 5:21 p.m. OtMJJJ tittda_ DS Diana Wilhite,Mayor Christine Bainbridge, City Clerk Minutes Special Meeting Council/Library 10-02-07 Page 5 of 5 Approved by Council: 10-23-07