CC Minutes - 09/20/06 Work Session

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Ms. Ortiz inquired about the status of the Whole Foods project and related land swap with The Shedd. City Manager Taylor said he was optimistic that the project would continue to move forward as originally conceived with a parking structure, then the land swap would occur; however, if only the grocery store project went forward there would be no land swap and the City would still own a half block across from the current City Hall. Ms. Ortiz expressed concern that discussing the Sears site would send mixed messages to the community. She agreed the site should be considered if none of the three proposals was successful but until that happened it should not be an option for the City Hall. She appreciated Mayor Piercy’s comments about including a cultural component to connect the building to the community. She encouraged City staff to have conversations with any private owners whose sites might be considered to inform them of the City’s interest. Mr. Kelly agreed with Mr. Hacker’s comments on the value of the Sears site for private development and Ms. Ortiz’s comments on sending mixed messages. He was not opposed to keeping the site in mind and would support amending the suggested motion to include language that would make it clear the preference was for private development. He offered the following language: Consider Site 19 if the current RFP process did not result in a project. Mr. Kelly thanked staff for a thorough outreach on redevelopment of the current site and acknowledged the letter of interest from DIVA (Downtown Initiative for the Visual Arts) and those in support of a visual arts center. He agreed that a visual arts center in downtown should be a civic priority but was not certain the current City Hall building was the best choice. He asked for the consultants’ views on Site 17 and Site 14. Mr. Cohen clarified that there was a definite recommendation at the public forum for a combination of sites 17 and 19. Mr. Hacker said that Site 17 on Broadway was not a good location for City Hall functions because Broadway should be all retail for the sake of commerce and the type of urban activity the City wished to encourage. He said Site 17 would only work in combination with Site 19. He said that Site 14 should be considered as a half block and a quarter block; being next to the park blocks was a plus, but the negative factor for the site was its north/south orientation, which would not allow for the most sustainable design principles. He said the Butterfly Lot was significantly better because it had the park blocks and an east/west orientation. He reminded the council that there was a proposal to restore the full park block on the north th side of 8 Avenue and the design team strongly supported that as it would provide more space for the Saturday and Farmers markets and make a good public forecourt for the City Hall if it was located on the Butterfly Lot site. Ms. Bettman said the council’s interest in the Sears site if the RFP process was not successful should be articulated to the public. She said that going through the schematic process on that site could determine it was not the best site but it should move forward in that process with the caveat that the council hoped one of the three proposals would be successful. She was concerned about Mr. Kelly’s suggested language as it seemed to preclude doing the schemata until perhaps there was a development there, which would take it out of the process in the meantime. She thought it more likely there would be development on the Sears site than on the half block site across from the existing City Hall. She wondered if that site should be considered as well since the City already owned it, it was a half block and in an advantageous location that would not MINUTES—City Council September 20, 2006 Page 5 Work Session