Redevelopment Commission

TOWN OF GILBERT REDEVELOPMENT COMMISSION Minutes of December 18, 2019, 6:30 p.m. Municipal Center Building, Council Chambers 50 E. Civic Center Drive, Gilbert, Arizona 85296 COMMISSIONERS PRESENT: Peter Sciacca (Appointed as Chair after Item 1) Tyler Hudgins (Appointed as Vice Chair after Item 1) Boe Bigelow, Commissioner Ryan Hamilton, Commissioner Tyler Jones, Commissioner COUNCIL PRESENT: Scott Anderson, Councilmember STAFF PRESENT: Amanda Elliott, Heritage District Liaison John Baird, Assistant Town Attorney Amy Temes, Senior Planner Ashlee MacDonald, Senior Planner CALL TO ORDER Tyler Hudgins called the regular meeting of the Redevelopment Commission to order at 6:30 p.m. ROLL CALL Amanda Elliott called the roll and declared that a quorum was present. COMMUNICATION FROM CITIZENS Chair Hudgins opened the floor to the public for any comments or communications on items not on the agenda. The Commission’s response is limited to responding to criticism, asking staff to review a matter commented upon, or asking that a matter be put on a future agenda. There were no communications from Citizens. ADMINISTRATIVE ITEMS 1. Oaths of Office – Swearing in of Peter Sciacca as Chair and Tyler Hudgins as Vice Chair. Amanda Elliott advised that under the LDC 5.109.3 and ARS 36-1476, the Mayor shall annually appoint a Chair and Vice Chair from among the members of the Redevelopment Commission. Additionally, the Redevelopment Commission Bylaws state that the term of Chairman and Vice Chairman shall be one year and any member serving in those roles shall be eligible for reappointment. No Chairman or Vice Chairman shall serve in the same capacity for more than two consecutive one-year terms. Mayor Daniels has appointed Peter Sciacca as Chair and Tyler Hudgins as Vice Chair of the Redevelopment Commission. The Oath of Office taken during their original appointment to the Commission continues to apply to their duties as Chair and Vice Chair. Ms. Elliott thanked Ryan Hamilton for his service over the years as both Chair and Vice Chair and thanked Tyler Hudgins for his leadership as Chair. She was excited to welcome Peter Sciacca in the role of Chair of the Redevelopment Commission. At this time, Peter Sciacca, Redevelopment Commission Chair, will take over the meeting. 2. Minutes – Consider Approval of the Minutes for the Meeting of September 18, 2019. MOTION: Commissioner Bigelow moved to approve the meeting minutes of September 18, 2019, seconded by Vice Chair Hudgins. The motion passed 5-0.  Gilbert Redevelopment Commission December 18, 2019 Page 2 of 7 3. STUDY SESSION DISCUSSION - DR19-184 GELATO CIMMINO GILBERT: Site plan, landscaping, elevations, floor plans, lighting, and colors and materials for approximately 0.2 acres, generally located north of the northeast corner of Gilbert Road and Vaughn Avenue, and zoned Heritage Village Center (HVC). Chair Sciacca advised that DR19-184 is an administrative item and the Commission will be limited to questions and discussion. There will be no action by motion on this item tonight. Senior Planner Amy Temes reviewed DR19-184 Gelato Cimmino, which is an adaptive reuse of an existing building located north of the northeast corner of Vaughn Avenue and Gilbert Road. The building used to house an electronics repair shop. The applicant has proposed an adaptive reuse keeping the existing one-story structure and adding a front patio space of approximately 1,000 square feet as well as 160 square feet of new building structure to accommodate freezer space. The main access into the site is on the north side with benches along the walkway and a planter. In front, there will be a churro and waffle sales window with access from the public sidewalk. There are open air windows and a doorway leading to the patio space. Inside the building there will be additional dining and a service counter. The freezers and kitchen will have access from the exterior to the rear. Through an Administrative Use Permit, the existing parking in the drive area that was shared with Mr. Barlow’s property to the north has been moved off site. Off-site parking is allowed for the 29 spaces within 1,000 feet of the venue, whether that be through a garage, on-street parking or a lot. The applicant originally applied and was approved for 31 off-site parking spaces, although with the current plan there will be a total of 29 off-site spaces. Four bicycle spaces are needed on the site, although it is a very tight site. Staff had suggested possibly placing those bicycle spaces on the landscape strip between the sidewalk and the street. Two inverted U bicycle racks would house four bicycles and the two racks could potentially work being aligned north-south. Through the Landscape Plan, the applicant has proposed nine (9) pine trees along the back property line, which is only about 4.5 to 5 feet wide. Most trees will grow larger than that space. Even as a town requirement for parking lots, 5 feet is the minimum for a tree and that would be with free flow on either side. Staff is suggesting that those nine trees proposed on the property line be removed. In this case, the trees would have a negative effect on OHSO which has outdoor space directly to the east of this site. There are also maintenance concerns once those trees mature as the majority of those trees will naturally grow away from the building and toward OHSO’s rear patio space. Along the north side, an outdoor planter is proposed with a number of plants. Staff was concerned about the aloe plants which may have terminal spines or sharp edges, which would not be allowed within five feet of walkways. Staff has asked that the aloe be a smooth variety or that it be left out. According to the Heritage Guidelines, a tree shall be provided every 40 feet along Gilbert Road. For this site, one tree would be required along the north property line and staff will work with the applicant on the exact location of that tree to make it work with the churro window and main access into the shop. There is a concern about people stacking on the sidewalk for the churro window with the 8-10-foot minimum requirement for the sidewalk. Staff suggested moving or recessing the churro window to allow room for pedestrian stacking. Some of the other shops along Gilbert Road also have service windows up front and at times the sidewalk becomes clogged with those lines. If the sidewalk becomes clogged, that may result in pedestrians stepping out onto Gilbert Road to get around. The applicant is proposing white stucco and white painted brick with black accents. The architecture has been referred to as Neo-traditional Contemporary Mission style. The applicant’s intent was to go with Mission colors with a more modern touch. Staff felt it was a very modern take on the Mission style with the high contrast white and black. The applicant is proposing tinted windows which are not encouraged in the Heritage Guidelines. Due to the solar gain, the northwest corner will be hot. The applicant is also proposing to extend the roof lattice structure out over the public right-of-way. Any sign or structure that will encroach into the right-of-way does require an encroachment permit through the town’s Development Engineer, Tom Condit. Typically, the town would prefer that any encroachment into the right-of-way be detachable or removable to allow for utility access. Staff wants to make sure it is designed in a way that will meet those parameters. Staff will discuss the encroachment with the town engineer prior to the final hearing. The street tree will also help with shade. The building is proposed at 18 feet at the highest point and 14.6 feet to the standard roof height. The Heritage  Gilbert Redevelopment Commission December 18, 2019 Page 3 of 7 Guidelines applaud adaptive reuses. There is currently a wide variety of building architectures, designs, styles, as well as uses along Gilbert Road. Ms. Temes requested input from the Commission on the overall site plan, landscape, bike parking, architecture, colors and materials. COMMISSION QUESTIONS/COMMENTS: Vice Chair Hudgins was pleased with the new architectural design that has come forward and felt it fits within the character of the Heritage District. He applauded the architect and applicant for their work on the design. With the change in the business type, there may be an increased amount of trash. He was curious as to how that trash would travel to the compactor at the parking garage. Ms. Temes stated staff has had conversations with the architect and the owner regarding the trash issue. There really is no back door to the building and we do not want to encourage trespassing across another property. The trash will have to be taken out the front door of the building and down the street on Vaughn to the trash compactor. The applicant stated the trash would be taken out early in the morning and late in the evening during off peak hours. There really is no other option to transport the trash. Vice Chair Hudgins has a business in downtown Gilbert and understood the desire for tinted windows. He was not necessarily against the tinted windows, but was curious as to why the town has not allowed them in the past. He suggested shades as an option to cut down on the sunlight. Ms. Temes stated that the comment in the Heritage Guidelines was due to the intent to have period-style architecture which does not have tinted windows. In more historical districts, we tend to see those types of comments. Commissioner Hamilton was fully supportive of the Neo-contemporary modern historic Mission style. Commissioner Bigelow felt the applicant and staff did a great job presenting the proposal. He was impressed with the consideration of the overhang and maintenance with regard to the pine trees. Vice Chair Hudgins asked for the Commission’s thoughts or suggestions about the trash issue. We don’t want trash on the sidewalks. He used to work at Liberty Market and noted there could be issues with trash falling out while it’s being transported. It has not been a problem for Liberty Market and they needed to transport trash through the Water Tower area. He did not see it as a big problem for this site. Commissioner Bigelow understood that there was an easement to the north of Barlow and Associates next door, although there is no easement or right-of-way to the back of this site. Ms. Temes stated there is nothing that all of the different parties involved have agreed to in terms of a pedestrian walkway. The discussions will continue with the applicant on the trash issue and any solutions will be explored. Commissioner Hamilton felt the trash issue was an inconvenience they will have to deal with. As long as it is not in the walkway, he had no strong reservations. Chair Sciacca asked if a trash bag breaks and trash is spilled, would that be a code enforcement issue or would some other town department enforce the clean-up. Ms. Temes stated if that was reported as a continual problem, it would be a code violation. Amanda Elliott advised that the town code states that business owners are required to clean the area directly in front of their business. It does not necessarily require a business owner to clean up trash that falls while walking garbage down the street. All individuals collectively are responsible for the area in front of their business. Chair Sciacca noted the potential for two U-racks to accommodate four bicycles. He noted the bicycle count was related to the number of vehicle parking spaces required. Because offsite parking is allowed, those four bicycle spots could be on the sidewalk instead of on the actual site.  Gilbert Redevelopment Commission December 18, 2019 Page 4 of 7 Ms. Temes pointed out the possible location on the site drawing for the two bike racks aligning north-south so that the tires would not impact the walkway. Chair Sciacca requested that staff work with the applicant regarding the exact tree placement along Gilbert Road. It seems that a tree could provide shade to the service window area. Ms. Temes stated the location can be adjusted to split the property line and still cast a shadow across that area. Chair Sciacca asked staff to work with the applicant on removing the pine trees along the back and possibly replacing them with another species to provide some screening, if the applicant so desires. He did not feel screening was necessary for the back of the building. Ms. Temes has a degree in landscaping and also consulted town staff regarding the landscape plan. She noted that Italian Cypress would not be recommended in this location and it is not on the approved plant list for the Heritage District. She did appreciate the applicant wanting to screen the back of the building. That is usually something that staff asks for. From an aesthetic standpoint, this building is 14.5 to 16 feet tall and she felt it would not be very visible to anyone in the OHSO outdoor area. OHSO already has screening in that area. If the applicant really wants some landscaping there, staff would recommend a vine and trellis structure. Maintenance for any plants in that narrow area would be difficult. Smaller shrubs are about 3 feet wide and larger species can be up to 12 feet tall and wide. Staff would be perfectly fine in this scenario with decomposed granite for dust control. Chair Sciacca asked if the building inspector would monitor during the construction for runoff to OHSO. He also noted the ice cream shop next door has a CO2 connection. Ms. Temes stated the Creamistry has a CO2 connection and a nitrogen truck comes in a few times a week to plug into that connection to fill the tank. Since there is no legal easement for that to occur on that property, there is concern that there will be cones placed in Gilbert Road in the middle of the night to allow a truck to access that connection. That is not an ideal situation and it is not preferred, although in this tight situation, that seems to be the only solution. The plug will be moved to the front of that building so that it no longer impacts the property line. When OHSO was constructed, the drainage comes off of OHSO’s roof onto this property. That also is not ideal and should have been caught. OHSO will have to redirect their drainage either forward or to the side to Vaughn Avenue depending on their roof layout. Drainage in downtown is communal and goes to the Vaughn retention basin. As long as drainage is directed out to the street, it will be taken care of. The concern is that the drainage not go onto the adjacent property. There are ongoing discussions in that regard with the adjacent property owners. Chair Sciacca wanted to make sure the town will monitor the drainage issue. Commissioner Bigelow noted there is an art mural on the north exterior wall of the Creamistry. The new structure may impact that artwork. He suggested developing a plan with OHSO or the Creamistry to blend it in or do another mural. Ms. Temes stated that was an excellent point. Staff will conduct a quick study of that issue. 4. GP18-11, 2020 GENERAL PLAN: Discussion of the proposed adoption of the Town of Gilbert 2020 General Plan. The proposed 2020 General Plan includes a statement of community vision, goals and development policies as well as appropriate maps, charts and other relevant exhibits and such elements as required by state law, including additional elements particular to the needs and purposes of Gilbert. Senior Planner Ashlee MacDonald advised that the process for developing the draft of the General Plan 2020 started a year and a half ago. Tonight, staff is not requesting any action by the Commission. This will be a preliminary review of the process, the proposed land use changes, and comments received through the 60-day public review. The last General Plan was adopted in 2010, and since then a number of studies have been done and other plans have been adopted. All of those items will be incorporated into the new General Plan 2020.  Gilbert Redevelopment Commission December 18, 2019 Page 5 of 7 A General Plan is a state-mandated document that is ratified by the voters and must be updated every 10 years. The General Plan documents the community’s views and desires for what the community will look like in the next 10 to 20 years. A General Plan is often described as a blueprint or roadmap for the community that typically covers a 20-year timeframe. It contains goals and policies which help in making land use decisions, and has to address specific state-mandated elements. Gilbert has 17 required elements that must be incorporated including land use, circulation, parks, public services and other items. Typically, in many communities, each chapter within the general plan relates to one element. Gilbert’s General Plan document will be organized among three broad interconnected themes of Community, Opportunity, and Connectivity. This will reduce redundancy throughout the plan. In addition, staff looked at combining and reducing the number of non-residential land use classifications. The current General Plan has a land use classification for each zoning district. Any time someone wants to rezone their property, they are also processing a General Plan Amendment. The new General Plan identifies the northwest portion of town as a growth area to recognize the ongoing efforts for redevelopment and reinvestment in that corridor. In addition, some polygon issues in the land use map have been cleaned up. A number of town staff members have participated in this process, including planning staff. We are fortunate to have Michael Baker International as our consultant team on board. Ms. MacDonald thanked the General Plan Advisory Group members who have devoted significant time to review, meet and discuss the General Plan. Tyler Hudgins is a member of that Advisory Group. Tristan Black with Michael Baker International provided a brief overview of the three phases of the General Plan process. The Recognize phase kicked off the project, established the General Plan Advisory Group (GPAG), and included a community baseline assessment. The Enrich phase conducted public outreach to seek input and identify issues, challenges, and opportunities within the community. Outreach was conducted repeatedly from October 2018 to October of 2019. The current Achieve phase drafted the plan components utilizing the information from the previous two phases. The final draft of the Plan has been submitted to the Planning Commission. The team is beginning the public adoption process leading to voter ratification. Outreach: Public outreach is critical to the General Plan process and numerous outreach events were held through the consulting firm and town staff. Engagement tools were utilized to ensure that comprehensive and far-reaching feedback was collected. The GPAG feedback included concerns about vacant commercial corners, build-out, infrastructure maintenance, and jobs. Community feedback raised concerns regarding jobs before homes, multi- family development, commercial development, traffic congestion, and maintaining the sense of heritage in the community. The complete summary of public involvement is available on the project website. Plan Outcomes – Using the information obtained during the Recognize phase, the team began the Enrich phase. Planned outcomes were developed by first editing the vision. The vision in the 2010 General Plan holds true today and has served Gilbert well and only two minor edits were made to the vision. The phrase “growing into a town” was changed to “thrive as a town” and “sustainable practices” was changed to “fiscally sustainable practices”. Plan Structure - Organizing a plan with 17 required elements can be cumbersome to navigate, can cause redundancy, and can cause those elements to function in silos. The General Plan was structured around three themes of Community, Opportunity, and Connectivity. This resulted in a positive and action-oriented plan that supports the vision. Goals and Policies – The Plan includes 16 goals as well as 77 policies that are needed to achieve the vision. Each policy may apply to and support multiple goals. Matrices were developed to highlight how these themes and goals correspond to the required 17 elements. The same was done for all of the policies to highlight their correlation to the elements. Beginning on page 103 of the General Plan, each policy has an associated intent, which will further outline how to interpret and apply each policy. 60-Day Review - Once the draft document was completed, the 60-day review process began in October, 2019. A total of 36 public review comments were received during the 60-day period. There were additional comments provided through the social pinpoint website as well as the online survey. A summary of those comments is also  Gilbert Redevelopment Commission December 18, 2019 Page 6 of 7 available on the project website. Support was received for the consideration of air quality and energy sustainability. Some of the concerns were related to increasing housing density and increasing traffic congestion. The team reached out to 63 agency representatives and 10 responses were received with similar concerns. Specific concerns were expressed regarding protecting wildlife habitat, promoting agricultural preservation, and housing affordability. There was support for the organization of the Plan and the consideration of public health and wellness. Land Use Framework – There was some consolidation of non-residential land use classifications. Based on the 60-Day Review feedback regarding residential land use consolidations, staff has reverted those consolidations. Currently, the residential land use is maintained from the previous General Plan and some of the non-residential land uses have been consolidated. Growth Area Plan – The Northwest Growth Area was added adjacent to the Heritage District. This area is recognized as significant for economic development as it is currently primarily industrial land use. Character Areas – The Heritage District Character Area is recognized in the General Plan. While the size and boundaries remain the same, the goals and vision were updated to reflect the 2018 Heritage District Redevelopment Plan. Implementation actions related specifically to the updates of that plan are found on page 151 of the new General Plan. Remaining Milestones – Ms. MacDonald advised that the General Plan update process requires two public hearings with the Planning Commission. One of those public hearings is being held tonight at the Southeast Regional Library to receive public input. No action will be taken by the Planning Commission at that meeting. The draft General Plan is being presented to the Redevelopment Commission for their input tonight. The Planning Commission will make a recommendation on the draft document at a January 22, 2020 meeting. The General Plan draft document will be presented to Town Council for action on February 4, 2020. Ballot language will be submitted for the August 4, 2020 ballot. The General Plan 2020 will continue to move through the process and will hopefully receive voter approval in August of 2020. COMMISSION QUESTIONS/COMMENTS: Vice Chair Hudgins felt the process flew by over the past been year and a half. He was very excited about the work done on the General Plan. A lot of the items were streamlined from a visual perspective. The original document contained a ton of text. The consolidation of districts is a great step forward. He was excited about highlighting the Growth Area in the northwest corridor and looked forward to seeing how that will develop. The Redevelopment Commission will be engaged and will be able to monitor that development. That will be extremely relevant especially as we approach buildout. He encouraged the Redevelopment Commission to continue to be involved in this process and the upcoming meetings. Commissioner Jones thanked staff, the consultant, and the stakeholders involved in the process. He felt the document was impressive and it is super critical that we have these road maps to help guide our growth and how the different pieces integrate together. This document will help to make sure the growth is done in the smartest and best way in order to preserve the integrity of the town. The majority of the public comments were focused on the concern for overdevelopment and that the town will become too dense causing congestion and infrastructure problems. He felt it was important to always be aware that part of the charm of living in Gilbert is the community feel. That is becoming a concern as people see more and more growth in the town. Chair Sciacca thanked staff and the consultant for the great presentation regarding the General Plan. COMMUNICATIONS 5. Report from the CHAIR on current or future events. Chair Sciacca thanked the Mayor and Council for appointing him to the position of Chair of the Redevelopment Commission. He will try his best to follow in the footsteps of the prior leadership. The Commission is made up of a great team that truly cares about the town. The town staff has been awesome to work with.  Gilbert Redevelopment Commission December 18, 2019 Page 7 of 7 6. Report from COUNCIL LIAISON on current or future events. Councilmember Anderson thanked the previous leadership for their contributions to the Commission and congratulated the new leadership. Gifts from the Mayor and Council were presented to the Redevelopment Commission members commemorating Gilbert’s Centennial. He wished everyone a Merry Christmas and Happy Holiday Season. 7. Report from COMMISSIONERS on current or future events. Vice Chair Hudgins thanked the Mayor and Council for the opportunity to serve on the Redevelopment Commission. It has been a pleasure working with the Council liaison, Scott Anderson. He also thanked the Town attorneys for their work and advice during Commission meetings. He has leaned on Amanda Elliot for support and appreciated all of her hard work. She is an incredible asset to the town. He was most proud of the Commission’s work on the Redevelopment Plan and appreciated the Commissioners time and efforts throughout that process. He thanked the citizens who came out to all of the meetings for that plan. He truly believes the Redevelopment Plan reflects what people wanted in the downtown as it continues to grow. He was thankful for the work that Peter Sciacca has done on this Commission and was excited for him to take over as Chair and lead this body. He looked forward to supporting Chairman Sciacca. 8. Report from STAFF LIAISON on current or future events. Amanda Elliott reported that the process has kicked off with the architect firm Architekton helping to create all of the graphics related to the Design Guidelines. The goal is to have those in hand within the new year for review and comment from the Redevelopment Commission and stakeholder groups, which include residents, business owners, land owners, partners, Council and Staff. ADJOURN Chair Sciacca adjourned the meeting at 7:15 p.m. ___________________________________ Peter Sciacca, Chair