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Home My WebLink About0285.092• "0< . i , ..... I - Juoe 11, 1992 HONORABLE CITY COUNCIL Palo Alto, California STATJ&ll£_<;ITY COUNe jL [![RECTIVES FOR SOUTH Of _ fOREST AREA Members of tne Council: Reoort i-n Brjef This is an informat1onal staff report that describes the status of the actions that tne City Council approved for the South of Forest com~rcfal area (SOFA) on Septem~er 23, 1991. (See tM1L 4-2:1 :91 of 9/12/91 aild Council mint::'tes of ~/23/9I.J No tity Councl1 action is recommended. Backgrcynd On Septemb~r 23, 1991, the City Council, in considering Planning Commission recomnendations for SOF.A., 1) directed staff to plan and schedule an architec.tural c.harette for the SOFA/Alma c.orridor, 2) approved the Planning COlllT1issiof)'S rec.orrrnended strategi€s for SO!='.~. 3) directed staff to prepare a street planting progiam for SOFA. Strategies re~o~nded by tn€ Planning CommiSSion are £vmmariled in the following table, which Wi:i contained ~r; CMP.:42I:!H of 9/12/91: PRIORITY ISSUE SUG~lSTED STRATEGIES highest 'V i s ua 1 -Complete the Urban DeSign Plan (Short Term) -Underground utilities in South of F<lrest commercial area -Plant street trees follo~ing lirban Desisn Plan Guidelines CMR:28S;91 L ,c-",> 1';-;. '?~~Y~~;f ~., ~,~_~ ~,'~4,!I1l"-;"'''~ - , -~ PRIORITY ISSUE SUGGESTED STRATEGIES Highest land Use -Allow auto s.-enice businEsses to (lang rem) rer.:ain indefinitely Consider higher density mixEd USE: offjce/reside~tial use incer-tilles along the .!,lma corridor -C{)nsider more effect i 'l'e housing transitions along Emerson Street -Re\ife-. permi tted uses 4 n CO-S and c.onsider some modification to el-iminate if"lapproprhte uses -Do not ere~are • s~ecific 21an Middle Parking -City Councii to continue to re\l'iew off-site parking agreements -Cor,s "der e1im"!";ating p'a'r"kir.g deficit credit prol,lisions ir. zc.~ing regulatiGns w~e~ uses chang€ and -irrtensift. Lower Traffic -Do nat consider street c1o$ur€'s Followin.g is a description of t,~e status of the5~ directiv'~s and approved s.trategies. SOFNAlrr:a CQ~ridor Archite.-tyral Charette Architectural students from Cal Po1y San lU1s Obispo participated in an architectlJral cnarette over the wee~end of April 3·5, 1992. They nlustrated development concepts for the SOF~IA1ma Corridor that were SU9ge~ted at an earlier Planning Commission public meeting Q~ March 18, 1992. They also il1ustrated an additional concept suggested by their Cal Poly facuTty advisors. In addition to tnose flculty advisers, the students ~ere assisted by Tony Ca.rrasco, a member of the ?;anning COlTlmissicr., and by OV..'P Keenan, who has complet~d several redevelopment projects in this are.. The st~dents presented their conceptual il1us-tr;,tions at an informal public meeting on Sunday, Ap~il 5, 1992. CGuncil ~ember M;~e Cobb made the opening remarks at this meeti~g, which was attended by local designers, nearby residents~ SOFA business and property owners, and other members of the public. Development concepts illustrated for the charette were: 1. CMR:285:92 L Ttle ex;st fn9 zoning concept, where existing deveTopment regulations and parcel boundaries were the basis for illustrating the upgrading of some sites, e.g., auto service busine.'>ses and ttle substation and for illustrating the redevelopment of other sites in th~ corridor "ith ne_ dev~lopment. 6/11/91 Page 1 \ ---"' ..... -'" - 2. Tne r~eveJcpmEnt concept, ~here redevelopment, some at densities regu1ations. -'. a11 sites 'Were inus.trated for exceedirg e:d st ;ng development 3. The bou1evard concept. 'Jinere laT'ldscaplng concepts ~ere ill ustrated to improve the visual qualiti~s of the corridor. 4. The AllJtCl' re7ocation concept U1at was suggasted by Cal Po1y fac~lty. where the right-of-~ay near the University Clrcle w3s shifted closer to the trac~s in ~rder to allo~ for more retai1 and pedestrian. activity along the ea.si side of Alma. A vi~eo film and photos were made of tne charette, ~r.d a reproduction of the charette i11ustrat;~ns will be a¥iilable shQrtty. One effect of the charette is that sever.;.' propert,Y and business owners haVE told stiff they intend to improve their business ficades in a manner or style suggested by cnarett€ illustrations. In addition, the Urban Design Comittee is. reconrner..dlng in the drift Urba.n DeS\9n Plan that the. el~ctric ut"i.Hty Substation 0.11 A1ma Street be scree:ned in a m3nner similar t-J what was suggested in the charette. Other c~~cepts that ~er~ illustrated may stimulate additio~al improvem~nts by Alma Corridor property owners in the future. Pl ann; ng Cg!!'lTli s s ion -RecolTlTlenae-d jtra tea j es, The fol1o~ing paragraphs describe the status of the strategies for SOFA tnat were recolTlTlend.ed by the Planning C.olTl11ission and appro .... ed by the City Ccuno:ll. Complete the Urban Design Plan ?uo-[ic review of the draft UfDan DEsign Phn by COIIIJI1Jflity groups is. exp~tted in late June ~r eariy JUlY. Re~)e~ of the P\in by the Architectural Review ~ard and Planning Commission should occur in late summer and tonsideration by the CitJ C.ounctl is expected in the early autullm of 1992. UnderqroIJndjn.9..J.IJ.ilities in South of Farest Area The Utility Undergrounding Distr1ct Number 34 1 which inc1udes the SOFA cOlTlTlerc; a1 area, will ~ave its engrneeri ng compTeted by .March ]991. The project's construction is expected to be completed by the summer of 1994. P1ant StT'.~.tl...1.~ . .FgJJgwing Urban Desigrl P1JtrU3jLi..d ... d.i~ This project should be initiated following compl~tion of the undergrounding project ~n this area. The lity's Arborist has made a preliminary in .... entary of the South of Forest Area for available tree sHes. It should be noted that tree planting will be difficult in f'llany South of forest 1ocations because <If numerous. curb cuts. an.d ba.sements. extending under sidewalks. Nonetheless, a mort! preCise assessment of CHR:285:91 6/11/92 Page 3 • - potentla1 sites for tree plarlting ca"l be made tow:!.rd t~e completiofl of the utility undergrounding project. Allow Auto Service Businesses to ~eTl1<1;i1 !ndefrnitelv No further lon1~g action i5 necessary. Cons.ider Higher Dgns.itv Mixed Use of Offi\:;.§.lResidentiiil Use In.£.e!!ti¥~ Alnna the ~lma CQrridor Such incentives will be considered during the Compreh~nsive rla~ revision. Conslo'~r More Effe~ti',{e Hou).ing Transitfrrns ATDng Emersol'1 Str.E~et Transitions between commercial cistricts and residential neignborhoods for Emerson Street and otner areas will be addressed in the Comprehensive Plan revision. Review Permitted Uses in CO-S ____ and Cconsider Some Modifications to_~limill~te Inapllfopriat€ Uses Staff will consider possible CD-S district use modification during prepnaUon of the next set of zOl'ling ordinance amendments following the Comprenensive Plan update. KOl\lever, no change il'l auto service 1Jse regulations is txpected to bE co~s1der€d. in order to provide consistency with the Council-approved directive to a1To~ auto ser~ices businesses to re1l1ain indefinitely in the SOFA comerci.l area, Do Not Pr~pare A Speclfi~~ No further action is necessary. City Council to Continue to Review Off-Site Par~~greements The current procedure~ up-doer which staff .. 111 refer to the Courlcil any proposed off-street parking isgreemet1ts for fill€ or more spaces, will be continued. Ccnsjder Elimin.]tjng Parking Deficit Creditm __ p.rlli~J9 __ n5 in Zoning Reguiations When Use'S Change an_,gm_JIJ_tensi f.,. Park.ing regule.tions for retail business 'recently were modified and, in effect, liberalized to conform to comparable regulations of nearby cities. Staff will monitor and re'Jiew the effects of these changes in parking regulations as they app~y to SOFA and other commercial areas before it considers further mQ~ifications to the City's par~ing regulations. Elimi1'lat1ng parking deficit credit prQllisions~ \IIIhen USE-S change and intensify, would run counter to this recent modification that rela~ed parking requirements for retail businesses. CMR:285:92 6/11/92 Page 4 , l • \ - DoC Not Consider'. Str..eet~losure..i No fur!h~r action is necessary. SOfA_nH.n!!et Tree Phnting Program tasUy, in a separate action on September 23, 1991, on SOFA, the City Council dfrected staff to prepare a stre~t tree planting program for SOFA. Ideally, new trees should bt! planted in this .area immediately folJ~J'lftin9 complet1on of the lJ!ldergro)unding project. As a rest.:lt, the Urban Design Plarl iAiill recomrr~nd, is a very high priority. that City staff coordinate efforts to assure that appropriate street trel!s, foliowing a prescribed plan, will be p1a~ted following completion of the undergrounding project. ~arv and Ca~clusion1 A number of actions a!'e either occurring or scheduled to occur that .i 11 affect and likely imorove the quality of the SOFA commerCial area. Ant icipated upgrading of auto sen,'i ce build; ng facades i 5 one exampl'E!. Anoth-eT example will be the significar,tly improved ..,isual qualities of this cnmmercial district tnat should occur 1 once the utility lines ha~e been placed underground and streEt trees planted in appropriate areas. Nonetheless. SOFA bus1ntss. and property owners have cl early stated in recent public meetings that if the City wishes to encourage retention of auto service busintss!s in this area. it should not inittate ZQne changes thai could result 'in the displacement of suck businesses. The1'efore, unl'E!ss directed to do otherwise by the Ctty Counc~l. staff intends to conSider strategies that wou1d affect use or develQP~nt potential for the South of Forest Area (e.g., allc ..... ing higher denslties along the Alma Corridor) during the course of the Comprehensive Phn reviSion, when such iss'.Jes and needs are evaluated ir: a broader community-w:de (ontext. Respectfully submitted, '~~(2~,~ GEORGE 1114'1~N oIf.- Assistant Pl anning Off1cial &1Ai.~UIMJJ.IA ~~-F'~G f" Assistant Clty Manager cc: Planning Commission Urban Design Committee --.l::' / L~ !./ / ,'-VNHL# / \' -.do?ta~q KENNETH R. SCHRfIBER Y Director of Planning and Community Environment Persons who attended South of forest Meetings CMR:186:91 6/11/92 Page 5 '. '.' i