10-1102_CRA_Minutes_Adjourned Regular MeetingMINUTES
November 2, 2010
Joint Workshop
SAN JUAN CAPISTRANO
CITY COUNCIL
COMMUNITY REDEVELOPMENT AGENCY
PLANNING COMMISSION
Mayor Uso called the Adjourned Regular Joint Meeting of the San Juan Capistrano
City Council, Community Redevelopment Agency and Planning Commission to order at
3.06 p.m. in the City Council Chamber.
ROLL CALL
COUNCIL MEMBERS & COMMUNITY REDEVELOPMENT AGENCY PRESENT:
Sam Allevato, Tom Hribar, Mark Nielsen, Mayor pro tem Laura Freese, and
Mayor Dr. Londres Uso
COUNCIL MEMBERS ABSENT: None
PLANNING COMMISSIONERS PRESENT: Ginny Kerr, James Mocalis, Bruce Tatarian,
Robert William, Vice -Chair Gene Ratcliffe, and Chairman Sheldon Cohen.
PLANNING COMMISSIONER ABSENT: Tim Neely
PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE: Chairman Cohen led the Pledge of Allegiance
ORAL COMMUNICATIONS
Steve DeNault, DeNault's Hardware -Home
Home Depot in town in order to keep the
maintain the small town feel.
DISCUSSION ITEM
Centers, Inc., spoke against a new
small businesses in town profitable and
C1, PUBLIC REVIEW DRAFT TO AMEND THE 1995 HISTORIC TOWN CENTER
MASTER PLAN (400.20)
Public Correspondence:
• .Jan Siegel, City resident, submitted a letter on October 26, 2010, suggested
purchasing the Garcia Adobe to be used for the Chamber of Commerce office;
and to look into the possibility of bringing to town a Bower's Museum.
• David Swerdlin, City Resident, submitted a letter on November 1, 2010,
expressing concerns with the proposed plan, and asked to keep the downtown
small, with lots of restaurants, and to put the tax base on the outskirts.
1 11-2-2010
• Tony and Orrie Brown, City residents, submitted a letter on November 1, 2010, in
opposition of the proposed plan, including extending Yorba Street to Del Obispo,
eminent domain, shared parking and a new City Hall.
• Lennie. DeCaro, City resident, submitted a letter on November 1, 2010,
concerned with the project being too ambitious, and opposed moving DeNault's
Hardware, the extension of Yorba Street, and a New City Hall.
• Ruth E. DeNault, DeNault's Hardware -Home Centers, Inc., submitted a letter on
November 1, 2010, expressing concern on how the proposed plan would affect
their store.
• Jennifer M. Gates, California Preservation Foundation, submitted a leiter on
November 2, 2010, asking that the Council and Commission take into
consideration the impacts to the community and its historic resources by the
proposed plan, and to explore project alternatives.
Cindy Russell, Chief Financial Officer/City Treasurer, provided a report and responded
to questions. David Sargent, Sargent Town Planning; Art Cueto, TransTech
Engineering; and Michael Bohn, Studio One Eleven, provided a PowerPoint
presentation of the Public Review Draft of the Historic Town Center Master Plan.
Public Comment:
• Lorie Porter, City resident, felt that the plan has good ideas, but important to
keep the historic feel; and read a letter submitted by Jan Siegel, City resident into
the record.
• Ilse Byrnes, City resident, read a letter from the California Preservation
Foundation into the record.
• Eric Altman, City resident, felt that a new plan is needed in order to move
forward, and hoped that the proposed plan would not be put on hold like other
previous plans.
• Richard Gardner, Capistrano Beach resident, felt that the proposed plan offers
good connectivity of the roads, and the new City Hall concept; felt that the
Caltran's eminent domain aspect needs to be carefully transitioned; and
suggested moving the railroad tracks over to Trabuco Creek.
• Bob Cardoza, City resident, stated that the historical element is critical in order
not to jeopardize or compromise the City's historical heritage.
Planning Commission Comments:
• Impressed with all the worked put into the plan, downtown has a lot of potential;
supported the removal of the parking spaces to add retail, and the parking
structure in the playhouse location; expressed concern with the City Hall location,
as it may be in an archeological area; supported the proposed plans for
Del Obispo Street with the median, widened sidewalks, outdoor dining, and
street -front retails, but concerned with burying DeNaults, concerned with the
remnant piece, would prefer to see more of a landmark as you come into town
rather than retail; felt that the residential aspect would work, but it would take
time; and felt that there are details that need work, but overall impressed with the
proposed plan.
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• Great to start the process, but need to make sure that the process is sustainable;
and felt that it was brilliant to incorporate Del Obispo into downtown.
• Glad to see that there were elements incorporated in the plan that might be
unpopular, and pleased to see that not everything in town was thought to be
historic or immutable.
• Felt that a lot of thought was put into the plan; felt that it would be a good idea to
open the wall of the Mission; and felt that the hotel would be a vital portion, and
need to be think of ways to enhance the visitor's experience before it.opens in
order for the hotel to be successful.
• Encouraged improving street connectivity; supported the Forster Street
extension, and Yorba Street Extension, but a modified lane rather than a major
street; supported the EI Horno Street connection; important to maintain the
historical heritage; and liked the idea of starting improvements on Ortega
Highway, in order to motivate people to visit downtown while the interchange is
under construction.
• Need to respect the history of the community, but also realize that not everything
in town is historic; the freeway interchange revamp and the new hotel will bring a
new entry gateway into town, and need to look at these areas of development in
the immediate future; liked the improvements to Verdugo Street, in order to bring
train commuters into town; liked the connectivity on Forster Street and
Yorba Street, not sure about El Camino Real at this time, but might make sense
down the road; need to look into ways to eliminate curb cuts without impacting
the businesses.
City Council/Community Redevelopment Agency Comments.,
• Important to have a road map to move forward; need to improve downtown in
order to keep visitors; The Garcia Adobe would be a good idea for a museum;
liked the scale and density which will provide the critical mass needed; need to
have quality stores in downtown; agreed with the location for a possible future
City Hall; felt that the EI Horno Street connection was a good idea, and huge
potential for La Calera Street and La Matanza Street; and supported the
proposed improvements on Del Obispo Street.
• Liked the block strategy, and the Yorba Street extension; felt that there is a need
for a small building on the remnant piece on Ortega Highway; appreciated the
continuity of the Ortega Highway all the way down to Del Obispo; supported the
EI Horno connection; important for the future Council and Planning Commission
to get educated on eminent domain; supported the downtown residential units;
the playhouse should be rebuilt either behind the Esslinger building or behind the
Manuel Garcia Adobe Barn; and liked the City Hall location.
• Suggested to notice future public workshops as public meetings in order to have
participation from the City Council and Commissioners; important to have a plan
in place in order to have a vision and provide staff with direction; need to focus
on the goals and the overall vision; preference in seeing more "Paseos" versus
"Streets", the "Paseos" would be for pedestrian blocks, and not to encourage
auto circulation on a block basis, in order to retain the authenticity of an early
Mission Village; add a goal to make it explicit in retaining the small village
character, but to enhance it; need to have a goal of being an oasis in the midst
11-2-2010
of Orange County in order to tie it to the Long Term Vision/Strategic Plan; agreed
with the short term conceptual phasing; supported expanding Del Obispo Street
into downtown; need to encourage the reduction of drive-thru restaurants and
replace with mixed-use and retail; supported the extension of Forster Street to
Camino Capistrano; felt that it was important to bring back residential into
downtown; preference in Yorba Street as a "pedestrian paseo"; liked the idea of
the parking lot by the retail office, but need to maintain the Camino Real
Playhouse in the downtown area; important to know the value of the land owned
by the Redevelopment Agency for future trading opportunities; liked the concept
of small retail in the remnant piece; not sure if the proposed City Hall site is the
right location; and felt that overall it's a good beginning and that additional
meetings will be needed in order to get into the details and get consensus in a
final plan.
• Felt that Studio One Eleven did a great job in understanding the town, and the
importance of the historical elements; would like to see the short term conceptual
phasing implemented right away in order to tie it to the 1-5 Interchange project;
need to have a main street that is filled with interesting places to visit; liked the
idea of wider sidewalks & pedestrian crosswalks; important to have something
constantly moving along, as a constant reminder that the downtown
improvements arc moving forward; supported the entrance to the multi -modal
parking area, as it will help the flow of traffic; glad to see the agricultural aspect in
the proposed Market Hall; and felt that the timing is right to get the
implementation started, and not allow another plan sit on a shelf.
• Important to have a plan; need to remove the curb cuts along Del Obispo Street;
once the Stonehill freeway off -ramp is constructed, it will reduce the commuter
traffic on Del Obispo Street; need to have shovel -ready projects for the City -
owned properties by the time the 1-5 Intersection project begins and the economy
turns around; need to look into the concept of making the Los Rios Historic
District an artist colony; liked the connectivity of the plan; and felt that the Hotel is
vital to the downtown, but it needs to be sustainable by bringing critical mass and
synergy into downtown.
Planning -Commission Action: Moved by Commissioner Williams, seconded by
Commissioner Tatarian, and carried 6-0-1 with Commissioner Neely absent to accept
the Downtown Master Plan with the comments addressed above; and to proceed with
the environmental review process.
ROLL CALL:
AYES: COMMISSIONER: Kerr, Mocalis, Tatarian, William, Ratcliffe, and
Chairman Cohen
NOES: COMMISSIONER: None
ABSENT: COMMISSIONER: Neely
Council Action: Moved by Mayor pro tem, seconded by Council Member Allevato, and
carried unanimously to direct staff to proceed with the environmental review process,
pursuant to the contract with Studio One Eleven.
11-2-2010
ADJOURNMENT
City Council: Mayor Uso adjourned the City Council at 6:43 p.m. to November 2, 2010,
at 7:00 p.m. for a public Business Session in the City Council Chamber.
Community Redevelopment Agency: Chair F-reese adjourned the Community
Redevelopment Agency meeting at 6:43 p.m. to November 2, 2010, at 7:00 p.m. for a
public Business Session in the City Council Chamber.
Planning Commission: Chairman Cohen adjourned the Planning Commission meeting
at 6:43 p.m. to Tuesday, November 9, 2010, at 6:30 p.m. for the Regular Business
Session, in the City Council Conference room. ,,
Respectfully submitted,
RAMSEY, COMMISSION SECRETARY
Approved: November 16, 201
ATTEST:
LAURA FREESEr, CHAIR
Respe14��Lbmified,
MARIA -MORRIS, AGE
SECRETARY
11-2-2010