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06/15/2015 Community Redevelopment Agency Meeting Minutes June 15,2015 City of Clearwater City Hall 112 S. Osceola Avenue Clearwater, FL 33756 Y SSS {h Meeting Minutes Monday, June 15, 2015 1 :00 PM City Hall Chambers Community Redevelopment AgeM Page 1 City of Clearwater Community Redevelopment Agency Meeting Minutes June 15,2015 Roll Call Present 5 - Chair George N. Cretekos, Trustee Doreen Hock-DiPolito, Trustee Jay E. Polglaze, Trustee Bill Jonson, and Trustee Hoyt Hamilton Also Present —William B. Horne — City Manager, Jill Silverboard —Assistant City Manager, Rod Irwin — CRA Executive Director/Assistant City Manager, Pamela K. Akin — City Attorney, Rosemarie Call — City Clerk, Nicole Sprague — Official Records and Legislative Services Coordinator To provide continuity for research, items are listed in agenda order although not necessarily discussed in that order. 1 .Call To Order— Chair Cretekos The meeting was called to order at 1:11 p.m. at City Hall. 2.Approval of Minutes 2.1 Approve the minutes of the May 18, 2015 CRA Meeting as submitted in written summation by the City Clerk. Trustee Jonson moved to approve the minutes of the May 18, 2015 CRA meeting as submitted in written summation by the City Clerk. The motion was duly seconded and carried unanimously. 3.Citizens to be Heard Reciardina Items Not on the Agenda — None. 4.New Business Items 4.1 Overview and Review of Existing CRA Downtown Plan-Bluff/Coachman Park/ Waterfront Areas. Overview and review of Existing CRA Downtown Plan- Bluff/ Coachman Park/ Waterfront Area: • Background and Plan Components (Lopez) • Coachman Park Element (Dunbar) Page 2 City of Clearwater Community Redevelopment Agency Meeting Minutes June 15,2015 • Charter/ Legal Provisions (Akin) • Implementation Status/ Issues (Irwin) Economic Development Director Geri Campos Lopez provided a PowerPoint presentation on the existing CRA Downtown Plan and reviewed the Downtown Core Character District and the ULI Report. Parks and Recreation Director Kevin Dunbar provided a PowerPoint presentation on the Bluff Park parcels and reviewed depiction of a potentially renovated Coachman Park, that pre-dates the Downtown Marina and boatslips. In response to questions, Ms. Campos Lopez said it was envisioned that a parking garage with tennis courts on the top level would be located below the city hall site. The restaurants were envisioned at the waterfront. It was stated that the drawing provided at the 2004 referendum did not include restaurants. The City Attorney provided a PowerPoint presentation on the charter restrictions and Special Act provisions for properties west of Osceola Avenue, which is referred to as the Bluff area. CRA Executive Director Rod Irwin provided a PowerPoint presentation on the implementation of the proposed redevelopment initiatives intended to generate significant private investment to rejuvenate Downtown. In response to questions, Mr. Irwin said more than half of the area shaded in red on slide 50 of the PowerPoint is owned by the Church of Scientology and currently not under development planning. Prior to the Church acquiring those parcels, the shaded area was known as the super block and played a key role in a development scenario that incorporated a garage and high-density residential. The area now has a reduced commercial potential, which is vital to attracting individuals to live, work,and play in the area. A concern was expressed that public buy in will not occur without a cohesive master plan that includes the Downtown and Coachman Park. Mr. Irwin said the ULI study envisioned an effectively used Clearwater Harbor that was a linchpin between the Beach and Downtown. These activity centers would be connected by a ferry service and other activities. Page 3 City of Clearwater Community Redevelopment Agency Meeting Minutes June 15,2015 In response to questions, the City Attorney said the Special Act was en- acted in 1925, the other special act provisions were enacted at different time, with the most recent in 1994. Mr. Irwin said the lack of restaurants in Coachman Park and Downtown is a barrier. Activities, such as kayaking and paddle boarding are lacking at the Marina and are needed to reinvigorate vibrancy. Mr. Irwin said staff is working to attract developers to the whole downtown. PSTA is still interested in a multimodal facility in downtown. It is typical in urban frontages, view corridors incorporate certain setbacks and separations between buildings to keep public access physically (i.e., walkways) and visually to the waterfront. Mr. Irwin said there are a variety of ways to incorporate building density and height to maintain view corridors. The public amenities incentive pool refers to the additional density that can be allocated. In response to questions, the City Attorney said the City has the ability to work with the legislative delegation regarding modifying the Special Act to allow somewhat broader use. Regarding the Harborview Center structure, the exemption will go away if the Harborview structure is demolished. There is no guidance if part of the structure is demolished. The structure can be used for purposes consistent with the city charter. The building can be renovated. It was opined that the structure can be partially taken down. In response to questions, the City Manager said the City has invested $20.2 million for the Clearwater Main Library, $12 million for the Downtown Marina, $10 million for the Cleveland Streetscape. A concern was expressed with the lack of private investment over the last ten years. 4.2 Bluff/ Coachman Park/Waterfront Master Plan process alternatives. Bluff/Coachman Park/Waterfront Master Plan process alternatives (Delk, Lopez) • ULI (Urban Land Institute) Recommended Process (Lopez) • Staff recommended Hybrid w/ Steering Committee (Lopez) • Additional/Alternative Forms of Community Participation (Delk, Lopez) Economic Development Director Geri Campos Lopez provided a PowerPoint presentation. Page 4 City of Clearwater Community Redevelopment Agency Meeting Minutes June 15,2015 Ms. Campos Lopez said the City of St. Petersburg's Downtown Waterfront Master Plan was a concept plan for their 7 linear miles of waterfront. The Plan's objective was to maintain and preserve the waterfront. In response to questions, Ms. Campos Lopez said if Alternative Process 2 is selected, staff would do more research with ULI on how co-master planning, a process that involves a planning consultant and a development consultant, is pursued and what it would look like. Alternatives 2 and 3 envision a successful referendum that removes the restrictions found in the current city charter. The City Attorney said some charter restrictions can be taken down incrementally and the Charter Review Committee is discussing that. Council may want to wait until there is a defined plan for other restrictions. Discussion ensued with comments provided that the downtown core area will play an integral role in future transportation initiatives and that the public has asked to begin the process now. Support was expressed to pursue to Alternative 2 and include a steering committee that represents a cross section of the community. Concerns were expressed regarding scope of project and resident participation in the planning process. Mr. Irwin said the planning consultant hired would be the lead in developing the plan. Staff anticipates the process would include robust community participation. The City Manager said staff will bring back the Request for Proposal to the Trustees. It was suggested that staff provide the Trustees with talking points on the proposed process. Trustee Hock-DiPolito moved to authorize staff to pursue Alternative Process 2. The motion was duly seconded and carried unanimously. The Trustees recessed from 3:00 p.m. to 3:05 p.m. 4.3 Present a White Paper, "A Study of Markets/Mercados in the United States," and provide direction on next steps. As part of the June 2014 Urban Land Institute (ULI) report on downtown Clearwater, one of the recommended action items under Community Gateways & Connections was the creation of a community market in the East Gateway District, which is currently one of the Priority items under the City's implementation strategy. Page 5 City of Clearwater Community Redevelopment Agency Meeting Minutes June 15,2015 CRA staff conducted research on several types of popular markets throughout the United States: indoors, outdoors, farmers markets, publicly-owned and managed, privately-owned, co-operatives, etc. The nine highlighted markets in the white paper are the following: • The French Market (New Orleans, LA) - City-owned but independently run, open air shed; • West Side Market and Market District (Cleveland, OH) - Publicly-owned and operated, enclosed structure; • 9th Street Italian Market (Philadelphia, PA) - Non-profit organization, outdoor curb market; • Wagon Wheel and Mustang Flea Markets (Pinellas Park, FL) - Privately-owned and run, indoors and outdoors spaces; • Pike Place Market (Seattle, WA) -Quasi-government, not-for-profit City-chartered organization, indoors stalls; • Mercado Central (Minneapolis, MN) - Co-operative, enclosed structure; • Portland Mercado (Portland, OR) - Public-private development, enclosed structure and outdoors stalls; • Plaza Fiesta (Atlanta, GA) - Privately-owned and run, enclosed structure; and • Tlaquepaque Arts and Crafts Village (Sedona, AZ) - Privately owned and run, outdoor shopping center. These market places can be very successful; however, success is not automatic. A combination of factors plays a key role: • Location and size of the market; • Ease of parking; • Community support; • Partnerships; • Uniqueness of products and services offered; • Marketing; • Programming of activities; • Sustainability; and • Pricing of goods/services. The elements that will need to be considered for a successful East Gateway Community Market/Mercado would be the mission and goals of a market, its location and size, availability of public and private funding, partnerships, and parking access and availability. The ULI report supported the festival core concept as identified in the East Gateway District Vision Plan and added that it could take the form of a mercado, a traditional fixed market from Mexico housed in government Page 6 City of Clearwater Community Redevelopment Agency Meeting Minutes June 15,2015 buildings with stalls rented by individuals. The ULI report identified potential locations as: (1) the intersection of Cleveland Street and Gulf to Bay Blvd. (which is the Festival Core zone as identified in the East Gateway Vision Plan); or (2) near the Clearwater Country Club golf course. Given current land and parking constraints in the East Gateway, CRA staff believes that the Portland Mercado could be a good model for the East Gateway District. Given the current demographics (Hispanics make up approximately 20% of the population in Clearwater and over 35% in the East Gateway), a Latino-focused mercado would enhance ethnic and cultural diversity. With its physical proximity to the beach, it can become a unique tourist attraction and destination, not only in Clearwater but in Pinellas County. Staff recommends completing the feasibility study underway of the Festival Core concept (on right of way) as part of the East Gateway District Five-Year Action Program and, at the same time, exploring potential locations, funding, partners, and parking options for a (fixed-location) mercado in the East Gateway. Staff can then evaluate both models for discussion with the CRA. Economic Development and Housing Director Geri Campos Lopez provided a PowerPoint presentation. In response to questions, Ms. Campos Lopez said staff has identified the former CarPro site as a potential site. Additional staff research includes evaluating the potential square footage and funding needs. Staff recommends the Portland model due to its smaller building footprint, given the land and constraints in the East Gateway. The Economy Inn site is approximately 3 acres which could be divided for mixed use. Staff was directed to provide the street address for the Mercado Central in Minneapolis, MN. Support was expressed for the Portland model. 5.Trustee Discussion Items 5.1 Next Steps regarding ULI - Trustee Jonson In response to questions, Planning and Development Director Michael Delk said staff had met with several groups regarding the Downtown Plan and there had been pushback from the community as they wanted to concentrate on low hanging fruit. Staff can deal with three dimensional signs and other things in a quicker time frame. He said staff was waiting to see how and when Council wanted to proceed with economic development and the bluff Page 7 City of Clearwater Community Redevelopment Agency 6.Adjourn Meeting Minutes June 15, 2015 master plan. Staff was trying to strategically decide the best use of limited resources. Assistant City Manager Rod Irwin said staff needs direction as the process started with looking at the list of priorities as well as some of the development regulations and Mr. Delk has expressed there were a number of things on the table regarding the downtown property owners and suggested staff take a step back and look at things comprehensively. Mr Irwin said a comprehensive change to downtown regulations has extended the completion date and generated some of the pushback. Discussion ensued regarding placing the bluff master plan as the top priority. There was consensus to mobilize the bluff master plan and to address the low hanging fruit in the design guidelines. It was said that staff would come back at a later time and revisit the more comprehensive look of downtown. Mr. Delk said if changes can be made by amending the Community Development Code, the process would move quicker. In response to questions Mr. Irwin said a status report including priorities and expenditures against the $500, 000 would be presented at the July CRA meeting. A comment was made that the public are invited to all meetings. The meeting adjourned at 3:31 p.m. -''t '3' 4' crt k .��` oPMENT� ",,,, Chair Attest ;•�<<,�`P ?�!`'A .q�,<<^ Community Redevelopment Agency z.Fc A u, I to.v- City Clerk =zy= psi-' ]>..z.--1.5. ;Y /4 Page 8 City of Clearwater