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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes 2018-04-25 @6:00J b c'�LIFOR�1� MINUTES SPECIAL MEETING CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SOUTH SAN FRANCISCO P.O. Box 711 (City Hall, 400 Grand Avenue) South San Francisco, California 94083 Meeting to be held at: MUNICIPAL SERVICES BUILDING COUNCIL CHAMBERS 33 ARROYO DRIVE SOUTH SAN FRANCISCO, CA WEDNESDAY, APRIL 25, 2018 6:00 p.m. CALL TO ORDER TIME: 6:01 p.m. ROLL CALL PRESENT: Councilmembers Addiego and Gupta, Mayor Pro Tem Matsumoto and Mayor Normandy. EXCUSED: Councilman Garbarino. AGENDA REVIEW None. PUBLIC COMMENTS - comments are limited to items on the Special Meeting Agenda. Comments were heard during consideration of Item No. 1 below. Study session regarding Community Civic Campus project outreach, access plan and design concepts. (Marian Lee, Assistant City Manager and Smith Group JJR, Master Architect) Assistant City Manager (ACM) Lee presented the staff report regarding Community Civic Campus project outreach, access plan and design concepts. ACM Lee stated she and the Smith Group, JJR (Smith Group) were jointly making the presentation regarding the Community Civic Campus Project. Council selected the Smith Group as the architect for the project earlier in the year. Staff worked closely with Smith Group over the last several months conducting outreach, re- engaging the public, looking at the program and validating the previously completed work. This included the important function of looking at transportation needs, including a multi -modal approach to site access. ACM Lee continued noting that today staff and the Smith Group would provide an update on progress and seek Council direction regarding plans moving forward. ACM Lee began a PowerPoint to present the update. She stated staff and the Smith Group had been reviewing initial goals for the project. As part of this process, they had anchored their thinking to desired ends. Coloring the review were the Measure W objectives, including responsibility to the residents to provide essential services in a way that meets the needs of a growing and changing community. She continued noting that the population is increasing and the community evolving with new developments. These changes would impact public service needs. ACM Lee stated that since Measure W passed much had been accomplished. She listed the following milestones as examples: 1) Site selection and purchase; 2) facilities division had been determined as respective separate buildings for police and fire and a joint building for Parks and Recreation and Library; 3) the Smith Group had been selected as architect and significant conceptual discussions had taken place; 4) Council reviewed an environmental evaluation of the project; and 5) Program Manager Kitchell had been selected and was on board for a year. ACM Lee stated that to this point, work had been conceptual. The next phase would include actual design. With that, she introduced the Smith Group to continue the presentation. Mark Roddy, the Design Director with Smith Group addressed Council. He introduced representatives from the deign team that were present, including BSW Architects, Fehr & Pierce and Shaw Kawasaki Architects. Mr. Roddy reviewed the current schedule and recent engagement activities. Smith Group anticipated the project would take four (4) years, including a two (2) year design period and two (2) year construction phase. Schematic design would come into play after a summer meeting with Council. Next year, in 2019, that schematic design would be brought into design development and construction documents that can be used to formulate bid requirements. To date, the focus had been one -on -one meetings with City departments and staff impacted by the project. The Smith group also engaged in a robust outreach program gathering input from the community to inform the design process. Mr. Roddy continued stating that Smith Group had several meetings with Council and various City Commissions, focus groups and neighborhood groups. Three (3) engagement meetings remained, including the Streets Alive Parks Alive Pop -up on May 5th at Orange Memorial Park, the May 22nd Town Hall at the Municipal Services Building (MSB) and a June study session. Mr. Roddy highlighted the takeaways from the Commission and Advisory meetings. At the Parks and Recreation Commission meeting, three (3) primary groups spoke, including the ballet group, the exercise group as well as the ballroom dancers. These constituents expressed the need for wood sprung floors in the classrooms as a safety issue. The Library Board of Trustees meeting saw high school students requesting previously nonexistent study rooms. The Measure W Citizens' Oversight Committee was concerned about fiscal responsibility and opportunities for fundraising. The Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Committee (BPAC) raised the idea of incorporating a bike hub into the new civic campus. Friends of the Library expressed concern about meeting the programmatic and spatial requirements for the library as well as the amount of parking. The Cultural Arts Commission was interested in the integration of public art. The Planning Commission had concerns regarding the fagade along El Camino Real. Mr. Roddy stated Smith Group met with individual focus groups and noted the majority of cultural groups, including Hispanic and Asian groups, showed interest in a variety of spaces for cultural events as well as for music and dance. The Smith group would be meeting with an African American Cultural group this month. The Historical Society thought it important to have a timeless architectural expression SPECIAL CITY COUNCIL MEETING APRIL 25, 2018 MINUTES PAGE 2 on the building. The seniors, literacy and the special needs groups were interested in safe and accessible spaces. The youth group was passionate about sustainability and securing a building that was inviting with plenty of light and open space. Mr. Roddy continued noting the Smith Group met with neighborhoods earlier in the week. These groups were concerned about traffic, access to the site, parking and safety in regards to bikes and pedestrians. Mr. Roddy next reviewed preliminary site accessibility. He noted the site offers challenges to traffic in all forms, including bicycle, pedestrian and auto. It is a convergence of two (2) of the most congested streets in the City. Further, Centennial Way Trail touches the north end of the site and doesn't pick up again until after Chestnut Avenue. The Smith Group believed there are incredible design opportunities to help minimize congestion in the area. Mr. Roddy believed the SummerHill Project to the north offered connection opportunities vis -a -vis Centennial Way. Likewise, along El Camino Real the Grand Boulevard Improvement Project would be widening sidewalks and introducing landscaping to yield a more pedestrian friendly environment. Crosswalks would be shortened to enhance safety and the bus and shuttle stops would be moved to make access to the Community Center more convenient. PG &E would be burying power lines along Antoinette Lane. This offered the opportunity to engage Centennial Way Trail with a landscape buffer to accommodate bike and foot traffic. The working group is looking at all kinds of options for pedestrian safety and amenities for the site. Mr. Roddy next turned to the validation activities that had been completed. The Smith Group had been reviewing the Public Safety work done to date, including programming meetings held with the Police Department. The group also had numerous tours of precedent facilities. In regard to the working program, Smith Group determined that about 43,000 to almost 47,000 sq. ft. are needed for the Police Department as opposed to the roughly 38,500 sq. ft. originally estimated. This would require a two (2) story structure to house the 911 call center, training classrooms and firing ranges. The Smith Group was conducting further analysis regarding fitting the required parking onsite. Presently, 60 surface and 180 structured can be accommodated. In response to a question from Mayor Pro Tem Matsumoto, Mr. Roddy confirmed the 60 surface parking spaces would be for the Police Department. It was estimated that roughly 180 spaces are required for the Police Department fleet and Police staff parking. Until full build -out is possible, larger vehicles could remain at the Corp Yard. Mr. Roddy continued his presentation focusing on the Fire Station. Program and design team meetings had been held. The group also took precedent tours of other facilities, including projects in South San Francisco, Oakland and other places. The initial program estimate was 6,700 sq. ft. Through the validation process, the actual has been shown to require 8,800 sq. ft. to 9200 sq. ft. The Fire Station fits on the proposed space, including 14 surface parking spaces. Councilman Addiego observed validation showed about a 20% increase over estimates for both the Police and Fire spaces. Mayor Pro Tern Matsumoto queried the reason for the substantial disparity between estimates and validated figures. ACM Lee advised the program estimates were developed by Group 4 Architects which did conceptual work with available information. This yielded the best estimate of the space required with limited SPECIAL CITY COUNCIL MEETING APRIL 25, 2018 MINUTES PAGE 3 information. With Smith Group's particular expertise in the Public Safety space, actual functional needs have been overlaid against current standards yielding updated numbers. Mayor Pro Tern Matsumoto stated it was brought to her attention that because of the disparity between estimated and validated numbers, the City is sorely lacking project funding. The disparity was not all attributable to increased construction costs, but also hinged on increased square footage numbers that Group 4 underestimated. ACM Lee responded that staff is studying two (2) factors contributing to the disparity and will be in a better position to discuss these in June. However, based on current work, it appears that the original estimates were undersized. Second, construction cost elevation has been greater than estimates. Mayor Pro Tern Matsumoto queried whether it was viable to keep the larger Police vehicles at the Corporation Yard. ACM Lee stated staff had been looking at every square foot of the proposed buildings during the validation process to determine what was absolutely necessary. With that said, she introduced Jeff from Smith Group to specifically address the needs of the Police Department structure. Jeff of Smith Group indicated the current plan was for all large Police vehicles including SWAT to be located on the new site. The working group discussed the possibility of the large vehicles remaining at the Corp Yard, but nothing had been confirmed. Mayor Pro Tem Matsumoto stated she was very concerned about accommodating the additional Police vehicles population growth would require. Jeff of the Smith Group responded that the parking needs include a 40 year growth projection, which accommodates the needs related to population growth. Mr. Roddy next turned to the combined Parks and Recreation and Library Building. He noted that current combined Main Library and Parks and Recreation space at the MSB is roughly 57,000 sq. ft. The working program for the Community Center Campus adds an additional 28,000 plus sq. ft. That's almost a 50% increase. In the working program, we were given a program estimate of 85,500 sq. ft. and obviously the Parks and Recreation and Library spent a lot of time working through the program. Through the program validation process Smith Group believes an acceptable range is from an 80,500 to 85,000. Additionally, for the building to fit on the site, it has to be at least two (2) stories. Given that amount of square footage, the working group estimated 260 parking spaces required for the building. Accordingly, various alternative options for parking were being considered. Mr. Roddy next presented slides depicting three (3) design alternatives. The alternatives were intended as conceptual means of addressing some of the challenges facing the site against the newly validated estimates. He began by displaying the preferred design which was presented with the Smith Group's proposal in November 2017. The proposal applied primarily below grade parking. With newly validated figures, surface and structured parking needs increased. The alternative renderings showed variations on the original program that included less open space and a downsizing of the iconic canopy and Council Chambers building on the corner of Chestnut Avenue and El Camino Real. Further, since below grade parking is an expensive element, the Smith Group considered offsetting some of the costs associated with SPECIAL CITY COUNCIL MEETING APRIL 25, 2018 MINUTES PAGE 4 the square footage overages by examining above ground parking options. These renderings yielded less opportunity for open space. The overall canopy that covered the entire building had been scaled back to accommodate outdoor spaces between the buildings. Additionally, the plaza hardscape around the Council Chambers had been maximized as an urban public statement with the Brise Soleil and the canopy at that condition. The Group was also still exploring opportunities for rooftop space. Councilman Addiego weighed in noting his disappointment at the loss of the iconic features in the original proposal including the overarching canopy and prominent Council Chambers space. He queried how surface parking impacted this feature. Mr. Roddy responded that the canopy blocked sunlight to the now much needed green spaces between the buildings it was originally proposed to cover. Trees and vegetation would not grow in the shade of the canopy. Councilman Addiego suggested that Smith Group consider the option of maintaining the canopy on the El Camino Real or street side of the building, where green space was not likely to be placed. The Smith Group agreed to the look at this possibility. Mayor Pro Tern Matsumoto observed that the new renderings were far from the grandiose plans presented in the original proposal. In fact, she did not even recognize the modified version against the original. In response to a question from Mayor Normandy regarding parking, Mr. Roddy advised 260 plus cars had to be placed on the site to accommodate the Parks and Recreation, Library and Council Chamber functions. Councilman Addiego noted the proposed parking structure appeared to overshadow the rendering of the Civic Center. Mr. Roddy confirmed the scale of the parking structure. He further advised that considering higher density buildings would be a means of claiming open space. He conceptualized a roof element that might serve as a third story and offer flexibility in this regard. Mayor Pro Tern Matsumoto queried the point of this suggestion, observing that Parks and Recreation classes would not be held on the roof. Councilman Addiego stated the modified renderings lacked the sophistication that dominated the design that the Smith Group presented at the November meeting for selection of architect. Particularly the canopy that ran the length of two (2) football fields over the length of the buildings yielded an iconic presence and grand statement about the City. He simply did not see the same statement in the drawings presented this evening. He understood realities dictated these modified proposals, and that parking to accommodate the buildings' functions was largely driving the changes. Mayor Pro Tern Matsumoto commented on the fluid nature of Library and Parks and Recreation programming. It was not an 8 -5 business, but rather spanned the course of the day on a rotating basis. Additionally multimodal transportation should be considered and might address some of the parking concerns. SPECIAL CITY COUNCIL MEETING APRIL 25, 2018 MINUTES PAGE 5 Mr. Roddy agreed noting that Centennial Trail offers perfect bicycle and pedestrian access to the proposed site, which allows for the parking to be positioned at 262 spaces. Councilman Gupta echoed concerns regarding the loss of sophisticated design elements with the move to surface and structured parking necessitated by the validation studies. He queried whether alternative parking sites had been considered. For example, he suggested the current MSB site could be used as a parking facility to service the campus. Mr. Roddy stated he was not prepared with solutions this evening, but the Smith Group was studying offsite parking options. ACM Lee continued the presentation with respect to next steps. However, first, she reminded Council that at an initial meeting with Council, Group 4 presented three (3) options in the form of conceptual renderings. At that meeting, staff took direction from Council and the option with structured parking next to the Police facility was selected. That parking structure was intended to meet the needs of the Library, Parks and Recreation and Police Departments. At the time, there was some discussion that this might not be ideal due to the need for a secure space for Police parking. After that direction, the concept of tucking parking underground where feasible was encouraged. The direction formulated that way. ACM Lee continued noting that when the direction was overlaid with the Smith Group's iconic canopied design, it wasn't possible to tuck as much parking underground as necessary to accommodate the scale of the proposal. At this point, staff is in the process of studying options to permit capture of the iconic features of the proposal while accommodating cost concerns that came to light as result of the validation process and parking needs that became apparent with overlay against the design. ACM Lee then showed slides depicting initial renderings designed to balance these factors. There would be several upcoming meetings to review these issues and settle on a design. Mayor Pro Tem Matsumoto stated she was on the same page as Councilman Addiego — no canopy, no project. Otherwise, Council could have gone with the other architect. Whatever it took to figure it out, she wanted staff and the architect to make it work. Councilman Addiego thanked ACM Lee for the clarification because he felt as if he now understood what the Smith Group was trying to accomplish in the slides it displayed this evening. He was disappointed with some of the design adjustments that might have to be made and queried when Council could expect a realistic financial sense of the project. ACM Lee advised staff would be in a position to present more firm information at the June 13, 2018 study session. Mayor Normandy thanked ACM Lee and the Smith Group and invited public comment. Resident Linda Mathiesen addressed Council. She explained the difficulties she experiences crossing the street at El Camino Real at Chestnut Avenue while assisting adult students with special needs from the South San Francisco Unified School District Program at the former Baden High School site. She opined the traffic congestion in this area would only get worse with placement of the Civic Center site at that intersection. She encouraged Council to think about these issues when planning the site. Resident Mina Richardson addressed Council. She noted concern over the Civic Center Campus budget SPECIAL CITY COUNCIL MEETING APRIL 25, 2018 MINUTES PAGE 6 that was raised at a recent meeting of the Measure W Citizens' Oversight Committee. She noted a significant shortage and hoped Council would not manage Measure W funding like the School District managed Measure J funding. ADJOURNMENT Being no further business, Mayor Normandy adjourned the meeting at 6:54 p.m. Submitted: Appr ved: 'sta artinelli Clerk Liza No andy, Mayor City of t an Francisco City of South San Francisco SPECIAL CITY COUNCIL MEETING APRIL 25, 2018 MINUTES PAGE 7