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Agenda Request
January 24, 2023
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AGENDA REQUEST NO: III.A.
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| | AGENDA OF: Posted Public Meeting |
| | INITIATED BY: Lauren Fehr, Assistant Director of Planning & Development Services |
| | PRESENTED BY: Lauren Fehr, Assistant Director of Planning & Development Services; Ruth Lohmer, Assistant Director of Planning & Development Services; Devon Rodriguez, Deputy Director of Economic Development; and Mark Toon, Puma Development |
| | RESPONSIBLE DEPARTMENT: Economic Development |
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| | | | | | | | | AGENDA CAPTION: | | Review of and discussion on the proposed Imperial Historic District General Development Plan and Land Use Plan Amendment. |
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| | | | | | | | | RECOMMENDED ACTION: | | Hold a joint workshop with the Planning & Zoning Commission and City Council on the proposed Imperial Historic District General Development Plan and Land Use Plan Amendment. |
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| | | | | | | | | EXECUTIVE SUMMARY: |
The purpose of this joint City Council and Planning and Zoning Commission workshop is to review and discuss the Imperial Historic District redevelopment plans and the upcoming changes to the zoning and Land Use Plan that staff will bring forward to the Commission and City Council for approval in February. Redevelopment of the Imperial Char House is the City Council’s top priority. As such, the City is partnering with PUMA Development to bring forward a PD – General Development Plan (GDP) and an amendment to the City’s Land Use Plan to provide a framework for the redevelopment of this site.
During the workshop PUMA and City staff will provide an overview of the proposed development plans. At this time, the historic Imperial Char House is the focus of PUMA's development plans, which is proposed to be adaptively reused as an office/ co-working building. PUMA anticipates future plans for the remaining area to include multi-family, medium density (e.g., townhomes and urban homes), and single-family residential, retail, services, and other supporting uses.
The Land Use Plan – Chapter 6 of the Comprehensive Plan – identifies this area as part of the Imperial Regional Activity Center. It is envisioned to be a mixed-use, walkable area that draws people from around the region. The Areas of Change section of the Plan includes vision statements for each Regional Activity Center. The vision was based on the Imperial Market PD Final Development Plan. Draft revisions to the Land Use Plan provide more general descriptions of the vision for the area and increase the anticipated number of multi-family units. These changes will provide the City and PUMA the flexibility needed to ensure the viability of the Char House reuse. The proposed draft revisions to the Imperial RAC description are attached.
PD - General Development Plan
The property proposed for rezoning is currently zoned PD – Final Development (Imperial Market) and PD – General Development Plan (Imperial). The proposed General Development Plan includes a list of proposed uses, general development standards, and a general site layout plan. The proposed GDP also addresses unique site elements such as the preservation of historic buildings and large existing trees found on the site. The proposed GDP is consistent with the requirements established in the Development Code for GDPs.
The City has taken a different approach to community engagement with this project by bringing in the community early, a step we’re calling Step Zero (before land is even acquired). From town hall meetings and social media, to blog posts and earned media spots with major news outlets, the tactics executed through the engagement plans have ensured maximum exposure for this project. Some of those tactics include:
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A landing page on the city’s website with timeline, FAQs, an option to provide comments or questions and an option to sign up for updates every time there is movement on the project.
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A small meeting with resident leaders in the community to personally meet the developer
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A news release inviting people to two town hall meetings about the project
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A blog post inviting people to attend the two town hall meetings
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Digital invitations to townhalls sent via listserves, Facebook and Nextdoor
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Two town hall meetings (Dec.8 and Dec. 15) which garnered 230 people to attend. A sentiment survey was disputed and responded to on-site during these events.
These tactics (earned media, in-person meeting surveys, social media conversations) resulted in an overall project sentiment of 70 percent positive, 2 percent negative, and 28 percent neutral. The majority of the sentiment focused on the support of preserving the Char House and excitement about breathing life into that space.
The next step in the process is for the Planning and Zoning Commission to hold a public hearing and make a recommendation on the Land Use Plan amendment and General Development Plan (GDP) to the City Council. This meeting will take place during the regularly scheduled P&Z meeting on February 14th. Following the Commission’s recommendation, City Council will hold a public hearing and 1st reading of the Land Use Plan amendment and rezoning ordinance; this is anticipated to take place on February 21st, followed by a second reading of the ordinance on March 7th.
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| BUDGET |
| | EXPENDITURE REQUIRED: N/A |
| | CURRENT BUDGET: N/A |
| | ADDITIONAL FUNDING: N/A |
| | FUNDING SOURCE:N/A |
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