City Council

CITY OF FREDERICKSBURG, VIRGINIA HON. MARY KATHERINE GREENLAW, MAYOR HON. WILLIAM C. WITHERS, JR., VICE -MAYOR, WARD TWO CITY COUNCIL HON. KERRY P. DEVINE, AT-LARGE HON. MATTHEW J. KELLY, AT-LARGE HON. JASON N. GRAHAM, WARD ONE HON. DR. TIMOTHY P. DUFFY, WARD THREE Council Chambers, 715 Princess Anne Street HON. CHARLIE L. FRYE, JR., WARD FOUR Fredericksburg, Virginia 22401 Council Work Session July 9, 2019 Archeology Ordinance Mary Washington Lodge Vacation of Douglas Street Council Priorities Quarterly Update The Council of the City of Fredericksburg, Virginia held a work session on Tuesday, July 9, 2019, beginning at 5:30 p.m. in the City Hall, Executive Conference Room. Council Present. Mayor Mary Katherine Greenlaw Presiding. Vice-Mayor William C. Withers, Jr., Councilors Kerry P. Devine, Timothy P. Duffy, Charlie L. Frye, Jr., Jason N. Graham and Matthew J. Kelly. Also Present. City Manager Timothy J. Baroody, Assistant City Manager Mark Whitley, City Attorney Kathleen A. Dooley, Community Planning and Building Services Director Charles Johnston, Development Administrator Marne Sherman, Historic Resources Planner Kate Schwartz, Public Works Director David King, Budget Manager Deidre Jett and Clerk of Council Tonya B. Lacey. Vacation of Douglas Street. Development Administrator Sherman presented a PowerPoint showing Douglas Street vacation location, concept plan showing the William Square and the Liberty Place projects including the promenade. She noted that the hotel was a recent addition and was not part of the plans that went to the Planning Commission. The developer has agreed to pay $8000 to put two wayside panels along the promenade. See Attachment I for more information. June 26 the Planning Commission considered whether vacating Douglas Street was in substantial accord with the Comprehensive Plan and they found that it was not in substantial accord. There were concerns raised by the public about the changes in the transportation network, and the unknowns because of the limited commitments from the developer at the time. The Planning Commission found that the vacation was not consistent with the Comprehensive Plan. 1  On June 28 the developer submitted an appeal and he has committed to constructing the hotel with 98 rooms. Ms. Sherman explained why staff believes the vacation was consistent with the Comprehensive Plan, the transportation policies focused on enhancement of pedestrian and bicycle facilities policies initiative. She said they recognized that the portion of the policy that says the integrity of the street grid must be retained does not conform but that the Transportation Administrator said the street functioned more like an alley and was not essential to the street grid. She said this project commits to the construction of a 311 space parking garage, provide pedestrian improvements through the project as well as to the parking deck. The project also provided a mixture of uses. Ms. Sherman said if the developer does not fulfill its commitments by July 1, 2022 the land would not be transferred to him. They agreed to have a site plan approved that would show the hotel, the promenade and the parking deck and securities submitted to the City guaranteeing their construction prior to the transfer of land to them. Staff recommended approval of both items. Councilor Kelly had some concerns with traffic flow and why this was not sent back to the Planning Commission for review since there had been changes to the project. Mr. Johnston explained that according to the State Code Planning Commission’s job was to determine if this conformed to the Comprehensive Plan policies. The traffic patterns are to be determined by Council. Councilor Graham asked for clarification on what the difference in grade would be from the promenade and the loading area. Ms. Sherman said there would be a curb to allow bikes. Councilor Graham was concerned that only about 60 percent of the vacated road would be available to pedestrians. Ms. Sherman reminded the Council that on the Liberty Place side there would also be a 5 foot wide sidewalk and Council may want to require that sidewalk to be a little wider. Councilor Devine asked if the additional 6 units came from the additional acreage of the vacation and Ms. Sherman explained it also came from the development of a mixed use project. Vice-Mayor Withers asked if part of the proffers were to add parking spaces and Ms. Sherman explained that they would be adding parking under the Amelia House and the deck would be 4½ floors instead of the 3½ floors. Vice-Mayor explained that there was not many things that could be done on this property and he believes this is it. He was hopeful that Council would move forward with the first read. Councilor Kelly asked for clarity on whether Douglas Street was a street or alleyway and Ms. Sherman said it was a street but it did not meet the street standards. 2  Councilor Kelly asked if the Council was precluded from sending this back to the Planning Commission and Mr. Johnston said it was not. Councilor Duffy expressed concerns that the mixed use site would use most of the parking and would not help with the current parking issues. Ms. Sherman explained that they are required to have 338 spaces for what is seen in the proposed project before the completion of the mixed use portion which gives a surplus of 110 spaces. Councilor Graham asked if the vacation was not approved what would be the end result of the project and Ms. Sherman said the project would consist of what was shown on the concept plan, the densities and the uses. She said the parking would be reduced on Douglas street and Mr. Freehling also explained that there would not be a condition to build an extra level on the deck (64 spaces), and there would be no condition that a hotel would be built. Councilor Frye said he would like to see a mandatory loading zone for the delivery truck and he asked how it could be mandated. Ms. Sherman said the Code would require or determine the number of loading spaces. Mr. Vakos introduced himself and said he was raised in Virginia Beach. He said he grew up in a hotel/restaurant business. He is currently a hotelier now, he served in the Marine Corp for 3 years. He and his wife moved here and practiced law on Princess Anne and Amelia Streets. He said he had an opportunity to do an adaptive reuse and he’s been in business a long time. Mr. Vakos has a contractor’s license and he said he would like to do this project and he believes it will have an impact on the City. Mr. Vakos said he would like the vacation of Douglas Street so there could be a sense of walkability. He said many areas are going toward walkability. The hotel is going to be a boutique hotel with above brand standards, with a mid-size conference facility in the hotel. Mr. Vakos said this was an opportunity for the City. He said his heart was here in the City. He asked the Council to suspend the rules because a delay could impact the Liberty Place project. He reminded the Council that he was not asking for anything with this project except the vacation of Douglas Street. Archeology Ordinance. Ms. Schwartz presented a presentation and in her presentation she showed what was proposed for initiation, the project status, seeking outside review, refining the model, discussion on the ordinance, minor application types and its process, major site plans and its process, funding the program and next steps. See Attachment II for more information. Councilor Kelly stated that the community outreach that was done through this process should be a model for the City. 3  Mary Washington Lodge. Mr. Freehling presented a PowerPoint presentation which he gave an overview of the property, he discussed what has happened since the last meeting and staff’s recommendations and process. See Attachments III for more information. Councilor Duffy asked about the boundary line and he wanted to know the value of the home. Mr. Freehling said the boundary line would not include the monument and he said they had a rough sense of the value but he was not ready to talk about that. Councilor Devine asked what the proceeds would be earmarked for and Mr. Baroody said he would like to discuss with Council about using the funds for renovations of historic properties such as Town Hall, other monuments along Washington Avenue and Cemetery Gate. Councilor Graham asked if sale versus lease would be better he said maybe it could be a cash flow for the City. Mr. Freehling said he would take a look at it with the realtor. He said they have spoken to a couple groups about leasing but there was no interests from any of them. He said there would be much more of a demand for purchase. Councilor Kelly asked what kind of restrictions would be put on the property and Mr. Freehling said they have the recommendations from the Memorials Advisory Commission. City Attorney Dooley said she the deed of easement would include the recommendations from the Memorials Commission. City Council agreed to market the property. Council Priorities Quarterly Update. City Manager Baroody updated the Council on the priorities and he reviewed the Gant sheet with the 34 new priorities. He highlighted several of the priorities. See Attachment IV for more information. Adjournment. There being no further business to come before the Council at this time. Mayor Greenlaw declared the session officially adjourned at 7:13 p.m. _Tonya B. Lacey _______ Tonya B. Lacey Clerk of Council City of Fredericksburg 4